The Dog and the Metamorphmagus
by Arvingwen
Summary: THE MISSING POST IS FINALLY HERE! Ever wonder just went on in the Malfoy manner while Jade was inspecing it that led to her and Sirius breaking up? rnThe crucile post is now included in chapter 32 'Reliving a Hell'. Please Read and Review!
1. Default Chapter

This fic takes place in the time of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs....  
  
sirius finds out an unexpected secret from one of his female friends....  
  
full of love, excitment, action, adventure, and a few pranks that would impress the Weasley twins....  
  
It will have breif chapter of the first few years of Hogwarts, then take on a normal-fic pace.  
  
Hope you all like it! please review!  
  
FIRST YEAR!  
  
"Hello, I'm Sirius Black. Do you mind if I join you two?" An eleven-year- old boy said. He had dark black hair, blue eyes, and an adorable smile.  
  
"Sure! I'm Jade Lorien, and this is.... Remus?" The girl looked at the boy sitting across from her. He looked somewhat pale and sickly, but also really kind and-trustworthy.  
  
"Yes. I'm Remus Lupin, sit down." Black made his way into the compartment and sat beside Jade. Her hair was red and a few inches past her shoulders, tied in a loose ponytail. Her eyes were shockingly blue. Her smile was brilliant, her teeth perfect, and she was very, very thin. Sirius noticed that she had each of her ears pierced twice.  
  
A moment later the door opened and two more people asked if they could join them.  
  
A girl, also with red hair, though hers was a bit wavy, came in and sat beside Lupin. Her eyes were bright green and her name was Lily Evans.  
  
A boy, thin, with glasses and jet-black hair that looked slightly untidy. His name was James Potter. The train started to move as he sat beside Lily.  
  
By lunch they were all talking about quidditch, a sport played on broomsticks with four balls and seven people per team. When it came to a stop they all got off the train and followed a giant of a person to some boats that led them to the castle of Hogwarts.  
  
"First years, we are ready for you." said a young witch, opening huge doors that led to a room filled with students. She lined them up in front of a long table where professors sat. "You all will now be sorted." The witch said. Jade looked at Sirius, then to Lily.  
  
"Adams, Henry." A young boy came forward and sat on a stool, an old hat was placed over his head.  
  
"Hufflepuff!" The hat called almost immediately. A table at the far left end of the hall broke into applause.  
  
"Abbot, Mandy."  
  
"Ravenclaw!" Two tables from the left, broke into applause.  
  
"Black, Sirius"  
  
"Gryffindor!" The second-left table whisstled and clapped loudly.  
  
"Evans, Lily."  
  
"Gryffindor!"  
  
After a short while the young witch got to the Ls on her list.  
  
"Lorien, Jade."  
  
"Gryffindor! The hat shouted just as the hat touched her head.  
  
"Lupin, Remus."  
  
"Gryffindor!"  
  
"Pettigrew, Peter."  
  
After a few minutes the hat said Gryffindor. It then moved on to,  
  
"Potter, James." Who was also Gryffindor. After a while, a small, hooked- nose boy named Snape, Severus was sorted into Slytherin.  
  
Finally, when the sorting had concluded the headmaster stood up, welcomed everyone back and a feast appeared out of thin air onto the four long tables, and the head table. 


	2. Second Year

SECOND YEAR!  
  
"Black! Potter! Lorien! You will kindly pay attention or I will be forced to give you all detention! Now, can anyone else, turn a rock into a ball? The entire year cannot rely on Evans to get all the house points you know."  
  
Professor McGonagal said.  
  
"Professor! My rock's changed!" Jade said. She walked over and looked at it.  
  
"But the colour is still one of a rock's. I asked for red." She walked away leaving Jade frowning.  
  
"So what if transfiguration's not your thing? Your wicked at DADA!" Sirius told Jade as they headed for lunch.  
  
"Hey guys, you'll never guess what I just got for a prank!" Peter said. He was slightly chubby, short, and nowhere near the top of his classes.  
  
"A stink-bomb." Sirius guessed unenthusiastically.  
  
"Well- yes, but if we set it off in Filch's office..." Sirius smiled. Yes, it wasn't brilliant, but anything to hassle that evil caretaker was a go.  
  
A MONTH LATER!  
  
"Hey, where is everyone?" Sirius asked as he came down from his dormitory, yawning.  
  
"Well, as you slept in everyone went to breakfast with out you. I just got down a minute ago myself." Jade said ruffling his hair, making it messier.  
  
"Well, shall we madam?" He said taking her arm and putting on a fake nancy- boy accent.  
  
"Why certainly." she said, trying to look rather lady-like. They walked down to the Great Hall together laughing and joking as they went. 


	3. Third Year

THIRD YEAR!  
  
"We did it!" Jade yelled at Sirius as she ran up to him from the quidditch pitch. He was standing not too far from the doors to the castle.  
  
"We made beaters!" She cried and jumped on him. He half- hugged, half- supported her.  
  
"Are you joking?" He said looking at her. "This is excellent! James got seeker!"  
  
"And Lily and Remus are doing commentary together! That will be interesting." She got off him and laughed- Lily liked to follow rules to the book but Remus was the type of guy who would boo Slytherin while commenting on a match.  
  
Jade had not changed much since first year. She was still very wild and spontaneous and loved sneaking around. Now she had a few more piercing to add to her collection. On her left ear she had a thin metal bar go through one whole and come out the other, so that the bar went through her cartilage on an angle. Her red hair now had a few natural blonde streaks in them and it was cut short so she could spike it.  
  
Sirius' black hair was always in his bright blue eyes and his smile lit up a room. He walked with a bit of a strut, hands in his pockets most of the time. He had an adorable habit of blowing on his hair from the corner of his mouth when it annoyed him.  
  
Sirius looked into Jade's eyes. They were, like his own, bright blue. But there was something about hers' that intrigued him.... there was a small fleck of gold in them....  
  
"Jade...your eyes, I never noticed, they're..." Sirius said quietly while looking into them. He couldn't really describe what they were.  
  
"beautiful." He finished just as she closed them. When she opened her eyes the fleck was gone. Her eyes were lighter, duller. Sirius blinked and looked again. Her eyes looked different! Only really noticeable up front, but different all the same.  
  
"Whoa.... I just thought..." He shook his head. "let's go to dinner."  
  
THIRD YEAR, DAY BEFORE END OF TERM FEAST!  
  
It was pitch dark in the castle, Jade had gone outside to go flying because she couldn't sleep and now she had to get back to bed without anyone noticing her. She slipped behind a curtain, sure of this shortcut. The moon loetin a considerable amount of light into this passageway....  
  
Siruis couldn't sleep so he was aimlessly wandered the halls of his school, going through a short-cut full of moonlight. Suddenly he bumped into something very solid as he approached a corner.  
  
"Ow!" Said a voice he recognized. It was Jade.  
  
"Jade -oh sorry, I thought you were someone else." He said looking at her.  
  
This girl had elbow-length, pitch black hair and eyes he had never seen before. They were blue, green, yellow, brown, purple, all at once. He couldn't really see the rest of her face.  
  
"Hey! I've never seen you before, who are you?" He asked. The girl's eyes widened and she turned around and ran.  
  
Sirius ran after her, she was quick, and ran very far. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm, swinging her into him and forcing her to face him. She tried to free herself but he was very strong. He held on to her, she was right up against his body.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked her looking in to her eyes....blue, green, yellow, brown, purple, all at once. And a fleck of gold too. His mouth opened slightly.... the same golden fleck....  
  
"Jade?" he whispered.  
  
"Yes?" She said dully.  
  
"How are you-, why do you-, what happened?"  
  
"I'm a metamorphmagus. All the women in my family are. This- this is was I really look like, was I was born looking like. Black hair and technicoloured eyes. I thought my appearance might be a bit shockingly ugly, so I-"  
  
"Ugly? You're- very nice looking." Sirius finished lamely.  
  
"Don't tell anyone please. I haven't yet fully mastered it so I accidentally changed back when I bumped into you." She closed her eyes and her black hair shrunk, becoming redder as it went. When she opened her eyes they were her normal, dazzling blue with a small hint of gold.  
  
Sirius and Jade walked back to the common room together. 


	4. Fourth Year

YEAR FOUR!  
  
"Well? You better not lie to us! We'll figure you out!" Mandy Abbot said to Jade. Mandy and two of her friends had cornered Jade behind the big oak tree on the edge of the lake.  
  
"No. Last time I looked Black and I were NOT seeing each other." She said laziliy. she had been taking a nap under the tree and they woke her up just to ask her what every other girl in the school was asking her. 'Is Sirius single?' However, sometimes girls asked about James or Remus, and even once a girl asked about Peter.  
  
"Oh! He's still single! We actually have a chance!" Mandy said to her friends.  
  
"His eyes are sooo sexy." One of them sighed.  
  
"His hair. I feel like I'm going to melt every time I see him.... the way he blows on it from the corner of his mouth!" The other said.  
  
"As interesting as this all is," Jade said loudly, " I was trying to have a nap. I just wrote my last exam today and I'm a bit tired."  
  
The girls got the hint, but walked away giggling excitedly. From the other side of the tree came fits of laugher. Jade walked around it to see Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter laughing hysterically.  
  
"Very funny, I was napping you know." Jade said. She looked at Sirius. He DID have sexy eyes, and his hair was now just past his eyes. Very gorgeous, every time she looked at him these days she felt weak. Jade herself had not chaged much in apperance. Her tounge was now peirced, along with her bellybutton. She was still slim, yet now she had grown an inch and had a few nice curves to add to her figure.  
  
Sirius had noticed those curves.... and her briliant smile.... the way she ran her fingers up through her hair and then punched him playfully when he made fun of her for it. He was transfixed everytime he looked into those eyes.... yet he never forgot what she really looked like. He had actually drawn a sketch of her that he kept under his matess, just so he wouldn't forget what she looked like that night in third year when he found out she was a metamorphmagus. But he would never forget... 


	5. Fifth Year

YEAR FIVE!  
  
"Well OWLs weren't that hard, were they?" Lily said, fruitlessly fanning herself with her hand.  
  
It was June and the last day of the OWL examinations. So of course, a heat wave struck.  
  
"Yes, well DADA was really easy but, Transfiguration.... I'll pull an Acceptable Level." Jade responded. They were sitting across the lake and even considered swimming in it like some other people, but the lake wasn't too clean. Both girls were feeling very hot and uncomfortable.  
  
"You really need to stop hassling James and Sirius, you know." Jade told Lily a moment later.  
  
Earlier on that day Lily had yelled at the boys for picking on a Slytherin student. Lily looked somewhat shocked at this news.  
  
"Now really, don't give me that look! You know Snape does the exact thing to them, and he wasn't what you'd call appreciative towards you anyhow. They're boys, it's what they do." Jade said.  
  
"Oh you're right. I just feel sorry for him. He doesn't seem to have many friends."  
  
"Yes he does. He just spends the majority of his time studying." Jade looked at Lily and then smiled. "Besides, I know for a fact you think James is cute!"  
  
"Hey! Shush! They're right across the lake!" Lily slapped her friends arm.  
  
A while later they got up and made their way up to the castle, the boys caught up with them. Jade felt very dizzy from the heat. She was talking to Sirius about Quidditch but wasn't really paying attention. He walked in front of her to look at her in the face; he had asked her something and she completely ignored him.  
  
"Jade?" He said looking at her. She wavered on the spot and collapsed. Sirius caught her in his arms.  
  
"Jade!" He yelled. His friends turned to look at what was going on. James quickly made water spout out from his wand onto Jade. Her eyes fluttered open a moment later and she looked up into Sirius deep blue eyes. He looked into hers.... Their bodies were very close....  
  
"Jade! Are you all right? You fainted!" Lily cried. Jade quickly stepped away from Sirius.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Then she realized she was soaked with water. "James?"  
  
"I had to wake you!" He said. They walked to dinner in silence, but Lily seemed to be very impressed with James, she was having a bit of trouble hiding it.  
  
YEAR FIVE! IN THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT!  
  
"This heat is killing me! We need to go swimming!" Remus said. It was about 9:00 p.m. but the heat kept many people from sleeping.  
  
"The lake is gross and the Prefect's bathroom would never fit the four of us." James said.  
  
"You mean the seven of us." Jade said. Lily and Ophelia were standing behind her. "You know you're not going swimming without us."  
  
"If we find a place that will fit all of us." Peter said.  
  
"You know, I think it's time we use the Room of Requirement to it's full advantage." Remus said quietly.  
  
"Wow! This room really out does it's self." Lily said. The room of Requirement had turned into a lagoon with white sand, clear blue water, and a waterfall off to the side. There were little changing stations in the corner of the room for each person.  
  
Jade went behind her own to find a bikini already there for her. It was a marine-blue string bikini that fit her perfectly. When she came out everyone was already changed. Ophelia was wearing a plain black tan-kini while Lily wore a forest-green halter top with a matching string bottom. Peter was wearing plain black swimming shorts, James, Blue outlined with a yellow stripe, and Sirius sported black swimming shorts with a fire pattern going up the sides.  
  
The water temperature was refreshingly perfect. Sirius came up from behind Jade and plunged her under the water. She came up a second later, smiling at him. Her hair, which was normally flipped and spiky, now lay flat on her head. Sirius laughed and started playing with her hair. A few minutes later she had devil horns and he had a Mohawk. They were close to the waterfall.  
  
Sirius swam in the direction of the waterfall with his back to it so he could face Jade. He pulled her with him. They went under the waterfall and came out on the other side, behind the waterfall. Their hair was back to its original wet state. Both parties shook their heads vigorously. On this side, everything reflected blue and the sound of the water drowned out the noise of their friends. Behind here, no one could see them.  
  
"Jade...." Sirius whispered looking up at her.  
  
"Yes?" She asked. They were looking directly at each other. Being a beater for the Quidditch team was DEFINATELY paying off for Sirius' physical attractiveness....  
  
"Could you do me a favor?" He took her hands in his.  
  
"Just ask."  
  
"Let me see you, just for a moment. The real you." Jade knew what he was talking about. She closed her eyes and her hair changed from red to black, and grew very straight and very long. The few freckles she had disappeared. When she opened her eyes they were blue, green, yellow, purple, and brown with a small familiar fleck of shimmering gold.  
  
Sirius looked into those eyes and she looked into his. Their bodies were very close. Sirius leaned towards her, she to him. They were an inch away.  
  
Slowly, their lips brushed against each other to form a sweet gentle kiss that lasted a lifetime. Jade's lips felt moist against Sirius'. They were smooth and fitted with his mouth perfectly. Sirius let go of Jade's hands and put his own around the small of her back. She rapped her arms around his neck while they briefly parted so that they could start kissing all over again. This time open mouthed.  
  
A few minutes later the beach ball that everyone else was playing with hit Jade so that hey broke apart. Quickly, she changed back to the redhead with blue eyes, then took the ball back to her friends with Sirius. They stayed with the friends for the rest of the evening. 


	6. Sixth Year, The End Of Summer

YEAR SIX, POST 1! The End Of The Summer  
  
Sirius was having trouble sleeping. He turned over in his bed and looked out of his window. The truth be told, as school came closer and closer, Sirius found it harder to sleep and to concentrate on things. He wasn't sure why either. When fifth had ended all he could think about was that kiss with Jade. Now, he felt as if school could not come fast enough, and that it was approaching all too quickly. He was excited, and terrified. He wanted to see Jade but wasn't sure how she would act around him.  
  
His house was more unbearable than ever. He silently thanked God for finding a house to move into that was close to James. In two days time, Sirius would be leaving this hellhole and would never have to look at his mother again.  
  
It was dawn. Sirius got up and unlocked his desk drawer by his fake window. He lifted up a board out of the drawer that appeared to be its bottom. It wasn't.  
Underneath it he hid two paintings that he made himself. They were both of Jade. One was of her in her third year, the other her fifth. In her third year it was dark around her, and in her fifth it was of her behind the waterfall in the room of requirement. He kept these paintings separate from his others, he did not want anyone to know that he painted, let alone pictures of Jade in her pajamas and a bikini. He rapped the canvases in cloth and put them in the bottom of his painting pile, all of which were also rapped in cloth. He put all of these into a big travelling bag and then put the bag in the corner of his room.  
  
His room was particularly bare and looked unused. Everyday for the past two weeks he had been going to his new home to clean it, paint it, and put furniture in it. Doing everything one needs to do to make a house comfortably livable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~  
Sirius looked around his new home. He had been there for a full week and finally, he had finished moving in. He momentarily thought of what his mother's reaction would be when she found out that he had drained his own, and his father's Gringotts accounts. 'Never name a son after his father.' he thought to himself, smiling.  
  
His father had died two years ago but his vault remained untouched. Sirius had stolen the key to it and drained it, then his own, so now he would be able to live quiet fully for about ten years before needing to find a job. He went to James' house that night for dinner.  
  
'Only one week 'till Hogwarts.' He thought on his way home. 'Only one week.' 


	7. Sixth Year, Aboard The Hogwarts Express

Year 6, post 2! Abroad The Hogwarts Express  
  
That one week past a lot quicker than he thought. Before he knew it, he was on the Hogwarts Express, looking for a compartment to sit in. He found all of his friends near the end of the train. He joined them, sitting on the same row as Jade. She was curled up in the corner against the window asleep. She jerked awake when the train started moving.  
  
She yawned. "Hello." She said to everyone. She closed her eyes again and put her head against the window. It was very uncomfortable, the window vibrated as it moved. Everyone was laughing and talking loudly. Ten minutes later Jade got up and left. Everyone became silent then.  
  
"What's with her?" Peter asked.  
  
"I'll find her." Said Sirius. "Don't worry about it." He got up and left the compartment as another door closed. It was a few compartments down, at the very end. Sirius walked over to that door and opened it. Inside was Jade, fully stretched out on the seats and eyes closed, trying to sleep. He closed the door softly and sat down across from her, watching her as she breathed. She was so beautiful, and yet, she looked ill. Summer holidays had just ended but she was somehow paler than ever. Her usual few freckles had disappeared and she was thinner than ever. She was sleeping now for sure.  
  
'Hmm....' thought Sirius. 'If you're a metamorphmagus can't you control how thin or fat you get? Surely Jade would never change herself to look THIS thin.' and then Sirius realized; The only thing she ever hides is her hair colour and her eye colour. Sirius imagined her with her long black hair. She would look even paler then.  
  
Jade turned right around in her sleep so she was no longer facing Sirius. She hit the air with her hand and muttered something in her sleep. Sirius looked out his window, scenery flashing by him.  
  
"Stop!" Jade yelled. Sirius looked at her. Her body shuddered.  
  
"What are you talking about Lorien?" He said.  
  
"STOP! No! I SAID STOP!" Jade yelled again. Sirius stood up. A second later Jade sat up bolt right, taking in a sharp, cold breath. Tears were streaming from her face and she wiped them away.  
  
"Jade! Are you- are you alright?" She turned to look at Sirius, she did not know how long he had been standing there and had not noticed him before now.  
  
"How long have you been here?" She asked standing.  
  
"What? I- listen, are you ok? You were yelling at someone in your sleep." He responded.  
  
"I fine, it was just a dream, now how long have you been here for?" She demanded as she sat down again.  
  
"A while, since you fell asleep." He sat down too, though across from her. She was looking out the window at a very boring forest. "So.... How was your summer?" He asked, trying to brake the awkward silence. She did not respond. She just stared out her window and shivered. It was very warm out though. Her expression was dark and unreadable, she seemed to be very far away and a single tear threatened it's way out of her eye. She wiped it away before it reached far. She shivered again. Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of linen. He transfigured it in to a blanket. He got up, rapped it around Jade and then sat down beside her, rubbing her back for a moment.  
  
"Are you ill?" He asked her.  
  
"No." She responded.  
  
"Do you want a glass of water?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked her, still very concerned.  
  
"No."  
  
"Well then what's wrong?"  
  
"No." Sirius was very confused and wondered about the constant 'no's he was getting from her.  
  
"Who do you think will be the new DADA teacher?" he asked her.  
  
"No." Something was DEFINATELY wrong now but there was nothing Sirius could do for Jade. 'What a wonderful reunion!' He thought to himself, feeling frustrated. 


	8. Sixth Year, At Night

YEAR SIX! POST 3!  
  
Jade was generally quiet for the rest of the evening. This was really making Sirius feel frustrated! He and Jade were always really close and he always felt he could tell her anything. She was definitely closer to him than Peter, and even sometimes Remus and James. They were a perfect couple on the quidditch field and Sirius secretly thought they would be an even better couple OFF the field....  
  
Sirius was in the common room that night sitting in the corner, he couldn't sleep and thought he had heard something so he sat down and waited. Sure enough some one descended from the girl's dormitory staircase. She was hooded and cloaked in black. Sirius was going to call on her, but thought better of it. He wondered if he should wait up to see when the girl got back but after waiting for over an hour, he gave up and went to sleep.  
  
The next day he watched for fatigued girls but the only person who looked particularly tired was Jade, and she was like that the day before. She was still moody and distant.  
  
"Ah! DADA first thing!" Remus said looking at the time table that Professor McGonagal had passed out.  
  
"Lets give the new Professor a warm welcome, shall we?" James said, smiling.  
  
"Yes. She looked particularly young and inexperienced." Sirius added.  
  
The four boys smiled at each other.  
  
"Hello class! I'm Miss. Lola Banaco, and I will be your DADA Professor this year."  
  
"Excuse me! Why only this year?" Ophelia asked. They had had a new DADA teacher each year since they were at school.  
  
"Well... I don't plan on leaving but no one else seems to last with this position so why assume I will?" She smiled. She was quiet young. She had blonde hair that was curly and brown eyes. She looked as if she had just come out of teacher's college, and was slightly nervous.  
  
"Now you are all in your sixth year and next year you will all be taking your NEWTs. This course is only for the best in DADA so I suggest, if you are not up to scratch you drop it and take something like Herbology." 


	9. Sixth Year, In the Bathroom and Out at N...

YR 6 POST 4:  
  
The next morning the Gryffindor sixth years had double potions with the Slytherins. They didn't make fun of Snivellus so much anymore to his face, mainly because Lily was around and James was beginning to understand that if he ever had a chance with her, he'd have to behave.  
  
People were finishing their potions in the last half hour of class. Sirius himself just corked his own and put it on the Professor's desk. Jade had one minute of stirring to go and it would be perfect, she was stirring madly to finish in time to clean everything and not be late for her next class.  
  
"Professor! Lorien has left her caldron!" Snape called out pointing to Jade's cauldron, it was starting to bubble over. Lily quickly took a sample of it before it became ruined.  
  
"Lorien! Get back here! You never leave your cauldron, you know this!" The professor called out to a seemingly Jade-free room. The class drew quiet, ready to hear Jade get a lecture. A sickening gagging sound came from the back corner of the room. There was Jade, shaking, clutching a waste bin she had just been ill in. With one hand she moved her short orange hair behind her ear. Sirius made his way to her but she kept him from her with her free hand. He was NOT going to see her like this.  
  
"A-" The professor looked around, clearly not knowing what to do. "Someone- "  
  
"I'll bring her to the hospital wing!" Snape said quickly, moving towards her. He got her up, glancing in the bin.  
  
He gasped. "Blood!" He said. "You coughed up blood." Sirius turned to look at Jade, she turned away. Her and Snape left the room.  
  
Five minutes later they left the class, running to the Hospital Wing to see Jade. Madam Pomfrey, however, would not let anyone in and quickly closed the door on them before they could barge their way through. Ophelia did get a glimpse of Snape at the back of the wing, sitting on the edge of Jade's bed. James knew she saw something and made her tell them.  
  
Sirius' heart sank. Snape was still there. 


	10. In Potions Class

YR 6 POST 4:  
  
The next morning the Gryffindor sixth years had double potions with the Slytherins. They didn't make fun of Snivellus so much anymore to his face, mainly because Lily was around and James was beginning to understand that if he ever had a chance with her, he'd have to behave.  
  
People were finishing their potions in the last half hour of class. Sirius himself just corked his own and put it on the Professor's desk. Jade had one minute of stirring to go and it would be perfect, she was stirring madly to finish in time to clean everything and not be late for her next class.  
  
"Professor! Lorien has left her caldron!" Snape called out pointing to Jade's cauldron, it was starting to bubble over. Lily quickly took a sample of it before it became ruined.  
  
"Lorien! Get back here! You never leave your cauldron, you know this!" The professor called out to a seemingly Jade-free room. The class drew quiet, ready to hear Jade get a lecture. A sickening gagging sound came from the back corner of the room. There was Jade, shaking, clutching a waste bin she had just been ill in. With one hand she moved her short orange hair behind her ear. Sirius made his way to her but she kept him from her with her free hand. He was NOT going to see her like this.  
  
"A-" The professor looked around, clearly not knowing what to do. "Someone- "  
  
"I'll bring her to the hospital wing!" Snape said quickly, moving towards her. He got her up, glancing in the bin.  
  
He gasped. "Blood!" He said. "You coughed up blood." Sirius turned to look at Jade, she turned away. Her and Snape left the room.  
  
Five minutes later they left the class, running to the Hospital Wing to see Jade. Madam Pomfrey, however, would not let anyone in and quickly closed the door on them before they could barge their way through. Ophelia did get a glimpse of Snape at the back of the wing, sitting on the edge of Jade's bed. James knew she saw something and made her tell them.  
  
Sirius' heart sank. Snape was still there. 


	11. The Hospital Wing

This post is a bit... crude? Inappropriate for younger viewers? Just- you've been warned.  
  
Year 6. Post 5:  
  
After dinner Sirius, Remus, James, Peter, Lily and Ophelia ran to the hospital wing, determined to see their friend. She was in the very farthest bed and sleeping peacefully.  
  
Sirius let out a sigh of relief. Jade looked much healthier and she had only been there since the morning. Madam Pomfrey threw them a disgusted look as she cleared away over a dozen of bottles and glasses from Jade's bedside table. Leave it to that nurse..... she could heal anyone in a heartbeat.  
  
"How long will she have to stay here for?" Ophelia asked, twirling one of her brown locks in her hair.  
  
"Three days. I will not let her leave earlier. You know, if she was a muggle she would die. She's had to take a dozen potions every hour and then a dreamless sleeping draught. I'm surprised no one's noticed how sick she was." The nurse tutted. "There's no use in being here now, She wont wake up until she wants to, she's under the sleeping draught." With that, the nurse went into her office.  
  
The friends ignored her and stayed with the sleeping Jade for an hour until they decided to go back to the common room and do some of their homework. Sirius told them that he'd catch up later.  
  
He sat by her side, looking at how beautiful she was when she slept peacefully. He stroked her arm and put his hand in hers.  
  
"Jade...."He whispered.  
  
"Sirius...." Jade responded. Sirius looked at her as her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. He moved a stray piece of red hair form her face with his free hand. "That was the best sleep I've had in about two months." She said smiling, sitting up in bed.  
  
"Yeah...."Sirius said, slightly frowning. "Madam Pomfrey told me that you've been taking a Dreamless sleeping draught. Why do you need one? Do you have nightmares?" Sirius asked, as gently as possible. He immediately wished he hadn't. Jade's first smile since this year at Hogwarts vanished and that familiar cold, faraway look reappeared in her eyes.  
  
"Yes, I dream about things- sometimes." Sirius could tell that she didn't want to tell him what was going on but he wanted to help her, and how could he help if he didn't know what was wrong? He put his hand on her back, rubbing it gently.  
  
"Jade, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Sirius asked. "You can trust me."  
  
"I know..... I'm just- ashamed." She hugged him quickly so that she would not have to face him but the smell of him was intoxicating. Jade, despite herself, felt like melting right there, he smelled so good. She felt so good too, in his arms. Safe, secure, loved.  
  
Jade pulled out of the hug, and turned the other way in her bed. It was no use, Sirius walked around and sat on the side of the bed, looking deep into her eyes.  
  
"You can tell me. Nothing you can say will ever make me think of you less than the Goddess you are." Sirius said quite seriously. Jade started crying.  
  
"It was my fault anyhow.... I was asking for it.... wearing a bikini in the evening.... drinking...." Her gaze fell as Sirius' blood turned to ice. Jade had barely whispered everything she just said but Sirius caught the gist of it. He pulled her into a tight hug again, not wanting to let go.  
  
"He raped me." She said so quietly Sirius wondered for a second if she said it. But he didn't need to hear those three words to figure it out, he had already guessed. As they hugged each other, a hooked-nosed Slytherin with slightly greasy hair emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room and slipped past them unnoticed.  
  
"Who hurt you?" Sirius said. "Who? I'll swear I'll kill him."  
  
"I don't know. I was on my front porch, reading in a bikini, because of that heat wave. I had a couple of drinks too, it was the evening. I was just going up stairs to my room to grab another bottle from the stash in my room, you know I live alone, right? Well, I was at the top of the stair case when he attacked me-and -dragged me to my room. Like an idiot I didn't have my wand, why would I? I live in a town full of muggles and I'd get expelled if I used magic. I couldn't defend myself; I gave him a nasty scar on his arm though, that I know. He had shoulder-length blonde hair, and he is in his early twenties. Oh! He saw my gryffindor tie hanging over my closet and made some snide remark while he raping me. 'Oh, a Gryffindor, how unfortunate. They always were a weak lot.' That's what he said. Which means he went to Hogwarts, and he was a Slytherin."  
  
Jade shuddered and Sirius remained hugging her, rubbing her back.  
  
"It gets worse. He's a really powerful wizard. I mean sound-proof walls so no one could hear me scream, he magically binded my hands to my bed post, but he left my feet untied and he told me it was because the fight would make it more fun for him. After a while he put a silencing spell on me. After he was done with me he left, leaving me there, all the while my wand just a few feet out of my reach. I don't know how long I lay there for, but after a while he came back, and raped me again. Then he left again, came back, and raped me again. He raped me four times. When he left for good all of the spells he cast lifted, and I was free. I was so hungry yet I could not eat, I lost my appetite completely. I didn't sleep for days. And now when I do, every fucking time, I see him, smiling, satisfied. A lot of alcohol got me through that summer. A lot of fucking alcohol." When Jade finished her story, Sirius was crying silently, he vowed to find and kill that man if it was the last thing he did. 


	12. The Tower and The Announcement

Ok, my next posts are all very short, so I'm compiling them together. If it is the end of a post it's because of a small time gap, or something of the sort. Here goes!  
  
Post 6:  
  
Jade got released from the hospital wing on Saturday and that evening, after she had revisited all of her friends, she went back to the wing to get a dreamless sleeping draught before she went to bed. And she continued doing so each night. Life rolled into a routine for the Gryffindors. Going to classes, making fun of Snape when Lily wasn't looking, sneaking around school, and playing pranks on people. Sirus knew that Jade liked him; Jade knew that Sirius liked her, yet they acted as they had always done, with a few stolen moments of 'almosts' between them. Quidditch practices were harder than ever but Sirius loved it. Every time he got on the field Jade amazed him with her skill. September melted into October, and October into November. Half way through the month, Sirius told Jade that he was taking her somewhere.  
  
It was close to midnight, the two friends tip-toed under James' invisibility cloak, Sirius leading the way.  
  
"Where are we going?" Jade whispered.  
  
"Shh, it's a surprise." After a while they reached the Astronomy tower. They entered it and pulled off the cloak. Sirius pulled two blankets out of a cupboard and took Jade's hand, they climbed the stairs to the top.  
  
"Wow." Jade said, looking up. There were a million and one stars in the sky. Sirius laid a blanket on the stone ground and lied back on it. Jade lied back beside him, Sirius pulled the other blanket over them.  
  
Post 7:  
  
"This is so beautiful." Jade said. Sirius had his arm around her under the blanket and felt a bit nervous. "Thank you. I needed this." She turned to face him and kissed him on the cheek. Sirius was very happy it was dark out because he was sure he was actually blushing, something he never did. Jade snuggled up to him, once again taking in his intoxicatingly inviting smell.... the next few hours passed mainly in silence, with Jade snuggled up to Sirius and him with his arms around her....  
  
"Mmmm...." Jade moaned as she opened her eyes. A sea of sunlight hit her. It was the morning, and she was still in Sirius' arms, and still at the top of the Astronomy tower. She nuzzled into Sirius' chest and closed her eyes again, smiling. A moment later Sirius woke up.  
  
"Hey beautiful." He said, moving his hand over her back. "I didn't actually plan for us to fall asleep, but waking up with you in my arms is definitely worth anything that Filch can dish out if he catches us. But there is no reason, we have James' invisibility cloak." Sirius grinned. "You're in a happy mood." Jade looked at him and smiled, and then with no warning, she kissed Sirius.  
  
"Thank you. I forgot completely about taking the Dreamless Sleeping Draught, and as it turned out, I didn't need even it." She kissed him again, this time, Sirius was ready, and he kissed her back.  
  
About half an hour later they went down to breakfast together, James and Remus were grinning madly.  
  
"Someone never came back from there little adventure last night." Remus said under his breath.  
  
"Someone looks very pleased about something." James added, nudging Sirius in an implicating manner.  
  
Post 8:  
  
Sirius shut James and Remus up with some difficulty and ate his breakfast in silence, glancing at Jade every now and then. He caught her eye once, where she smiled and looked away, blushing slightly.  
  
The Professors obviously did not believe that the students needed to sleep. The workload mounted very high and Sirius knew that he and Jade would not be able to sneak out for a long time. Once, Jade fell asleep on a couch as she read over an essay and started having nightmares again. Sirus woke her up by rapping his arms around her and calling her name. She hugged him then for a very long time then. Over all she was getting better. The only time she thought about her bad summer experiences were when she was asleep and she still took the sleeping potions so she avoided it then too. People were beginning to see some of her bright, old self.  
  
On December First, Dumbledore made a very exciting announcement over dinner.  
  
"It seems to me, that the teachers have been working the older students very hard." "Hear, hear!" Someone shouted. Dumbledore looked at McGonagal and smiled. "So, to celebrate the up-coming holidays, we will be having a Ball on Christmas."  
  
Tons of girls squealed with delight and many of them looked at Sirius hopefully. Sirius, however, looked hopefully at Jade. Jade noticed him out of the corner of her eye and looked at her plate, smiling. Dumbledore held up his hand for silence.  
  
"It is for fifth, sixth, and seventh years only. The ball will start at 8:00 pm and end at 1:00 am. It is a formal ball so dressrobes and gowns will be worn. That is all." The excitement started up again. No one could believe that there was going to be a ball and it was the only thing anyone could talk about. 


	13. Remus and Ophelia, the question, the clo...

Post 9:  
  
Seven days after Dumbledore's much-celebrated announcement something rather unexpected happened. It was after supper in the common room where the group was sitting around a long table doing homework. Remus kept looking at Ophelia, when he looked away she would look at him. Slowly, everyone else began to realize the very, very obvious. Remus and Ophelia liked each other, yet both were too shy to tell the other.  
  
"Um, Remus..." Ophelia said, after several minutes of glancing at him while he wasn't looking. She seemed nervous.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Could I talk to you alone for a moment?"  
  
"Sure." They left the table together and walked to a corner of the common room. Almost right away everyone started whispering.  
  
"Oh my goodness!" Lily said. "Look at them." Everyone's heads turned to see Ophelia and Remus kissing! James and Sirius started whistling and clapping rather loudly, making the two pull away hastily. Both looked very embarrassed and very happy!  
  
'What the hell.' Remus thought to himself, he pulled Ophelia into another kiss. This time both parties looked even MORE pleased when they finally parted.  
  
"So, you guys going to the ball together?" James asked.  
  
"We were thinking about, yeah." Remus said in a would-be casual voice.  
  
"Smooth Moony." Sirius said.  
  
"I'm going with Nancy Phillips." Peter piped in.  
  
"We know!" Every one said at the same time. Peter had plucked up the courage to ask Nancy Phillips, a Hufflepuff fifth year, to the ball. She was a bit short, but matched Peter for height, had thin lips, brown, slightly wavy hair and brown eyes. In other words, she was very plain and boringly average. Yet she thought Peter was always nice to her so she said yes. (Plus, she wouldn't get into the ball otherwise.)  
  
Peter had been constantly telling everyone for the past two days that he had a date for the ball and looked slightly offended when everyone stopped paying attention to him.  
  
Lily was going to the ball with a seventh year Gryffindor named Shane Finch. He was a Gryffindor Chaser. James was going out with Candice (AKA "Candy")  
  
Lufreemin, a Ravenclaw sixth year and also the school scank (which is surprising because she's in Ravenclaw). Sirius had still not asked Jade to the ball and one week had passed since Dumbledore's announcement.  
  
The next evening however, Sirius and Jade found themselves all alone in the common room. And weather it was planned by their friends or not, Jade and Sirius ended up sitting together alone. Sirus finally asked Jade out.  
  
"A- Jade?" Sirius asked. She looked into his eyes to acknowledge him. "I was wondering... a-" Was it hot in here? "If you would like to, -to go to the ball with me." Sirius said the last part quickly before he could change his mind. Jade smiled.  
  
"Of course I would. You're the only man I could ever see myself with." she kissed him on the cheek. "You've been my best friend for over five years. You've helped me through the hardest times in my life; I don't know where I'd be without you. Thank you." She hugged him and he hugged her back.  
  
Sirius felt the happiest that he had ever felt in his entire life that night.  
  
Post 10:  
  
With the prospect of the ball coming up, every single sixth and seventh year went to Hogsmede the following weekend. Jade went shopping with Lily and Ophelia, hoping they would honestly tell her if she looked good or not in a dress.  
  
After Lily purchased a sea-blue dress that complimented her figure, and Ophelia bought a midnight blue dress that shimmered as she walked, they went into a tiny, cramped, dress shop that not many others had been in. Skeptical, Jade walked into the store, thinking about what colour of dress would compliment red hair. At the very back of the store she found something she liked, though it was a skirt and top it was still elegant and not to flashy. It was a very low cut shirt that was completely off-the- shoulder and fitted her body tightly. The sleeves got wider at her wrists and the shirt laced up in the back. The skirt swayed when she twirled it and fanned out at the bottom. Both shirt and skirt were plain white with a thin embroidered design across it.  
  
Jade paid for it and left. As they left the shop they saw the boys and all three girl dashed into a run, determined to not show their dresses to them yet. The element of surprise is needed for shock-value.  
  
December classes quickly melted away and all too soon Christmas break arrived. Jade found herself getting very scared at the mention of the ball and realized just how nervous she was. There was something missing in her ensemble and she couldn't place what it was. A necklace! She needed a necklace. Panicking, Jade flipped through a catalogue, looking for something. The ball was in four days and there was no way she would get anything in time.  
  
"That's it!" A light bauble went off in her head. In the summer, she lived as a muggle and went to one of their museums a few times. There was a necklace in there that would go perfectly with her dress.  
  
"James!" She called as she ran down her staircase. "James I need you!"  
  
"Wow! I thought you needed Sirius?" He said smiling. She smacked his arm. People were looking at them.  
  
"Idiot! I need to borrow- a cloak of yours. A cloak that happens to be worth a lot of money. Just for tonight." James nodded to show that he knew what she was talking about. He went up to his dormitory and returned a moment later, caring a folded cloak.  
  
"What do you need it for?" He whispered.  
  
"You'll find out at the ball." With that She took it and ran up to her room, grabbing her wand and a pair of black gloves. She scribbled something down on a piece of parchment and pocketed it. Then she left the common room and made her way to the Front Doors. 


	14. Christmas Day

Post 11:  
  
Once she reached the doors Morne put on the cloak and walked to Hogsmede, completely invisible. As soon as she got into town she disapperated, and apperated into the museum, right in front of a display case with the necklace in it. She hadn't taken her apperation test yet, but she discovered when she was young that she had a special talent for apperation. She was six to be exact; she wished she could find her father so badly, that she accidentally found herself in Azkaban. Somewhere that normal witches and wizards could not go.  
  
Morne made the glass vanish with her wand. She removed the necklace and put it carefully into a case. Then, she put the piece of parchment in it where the necklace would be, made the glass re-appear, and disapperated. She found herself in Hogsmede again, and walked back to the castle.  
  
The next morning, a security guard at the museum pulled a red-alert button, shaking his head as he read Morne's note.  
  
Thanks for the necklace, I promise I'll return it.  
  
Morne smiled to herself the next morning, thinking about what the muggle newspapers would be saying. It was all too easy for her.  
  
Post 12:  
  
Finally, Christmas morning arrived. Jade slept in very late and when she woke up, there was a small pile of presents at the end of her bed. Peter bought her some fudge. Ophelia and Lily bought her a dark-blue shirt that fanned out at the sleeves (this style seemed to suit Jade well). Remus bought her a new journal and James bought her a firework set. Jade had no family, and no relatives. This always saddened her on holidays, seeing everyone else being loved by someone. She looked at Sirius' unopened gift. It was in a blue box with a white ribbon. Jade carefully undid the bow and opened the lid. She gasped as she picked up the white gold bracelet that was laced with diamonds. She had never seen anything dazzle like that when it hit the light, besides the necklace she stole from the museum.  
  
Jade threw on a casual outfit that made her seem effortlessly radiant, and Sirius turned his head when she walked into the common room. She kissed him before hugging him and thanking him for his wonderful gift. She just hoped Sirius liked the watch she gave him. It was enchanted so that the colour of the rim would match his mood.  
  
Sirius whispered playfully in her ear, "I loved the watch."  
  
"I love that bracelet!" She replied.  
  
"I can't wait to see you in dress tonight. Is it a revealing dress?"  
  
Jade started laughing and slightly blushed. After lunch Jade laid everything out at the side of her bed, keeping the necklace in the case. She showered right before dinner (and washed hair, etc.) and magically gave herself a manicure and pedicure. Finally at 8:50 pm, Jade was almost finished getting ready for the ball.  
  
Post 12:  
  
Finally, Christmas morning arrived. Jade slept in very late and when she woke up, there was a small pile of presents at the end of her bed. Peter bought her some fudge. Ophelia and Lily bought her a dark-blue shirt that fanned out at the sleeves (this style seemed to suit Jade well). Remus bought her a new journal and James bought her a firework set. Jade had no family, and no relatives. This always saddened her on holidays, seeing everyone else being loved by someone. She looked at Sirius' unopened gift. It was in a blue box with a white ribbon. Jade carefully undid the bow and opened the lid. She gasped as she picked up the white gold bracelet that was laced with diamonds. She had never seen anything dazzle like that when it hit the light, besides the necklace she stole from the museum.  
  
Jade threw on a casual outfit that made her seem effortlessly radiant, and Sirius turned his head when she walked into the common room. She kissed him before hugging him and thanking him for his wonderful gift. She just hoped Sirius liked the watch she gave him. It was enchanted so that the colour of the rim would match his mood.  
  
Sirius whispered playfully in her ear, "I loved the watch."  
  
"I love that bracelet!" She replied.  
  
"I can't wait to see you in dress tonight. Is it a revealing dress?"  
  
Jade started laughing and slightly blushed. After lunch Jade laid everything out at the side of her bed, keeping the necklace in the case. She showered right before dinner (and washed hair, etc.) and magically gave herself a manicure and pedicure. Finally at 8:50 pm, Jade was almost finished getting ready for the ball. 


	15. The Snowball Fight

Post 14:  
  
After the ball Jade and Sirius walked back to the common room, hand in hand. It was only 1:30 a.m. and no one seemed very tired. So after half an hour of debating, and waiting for Lily and James to come back from their dates, everyone changed into their regular clothes and tip-toed through the school to the room of requirement.  
  
"So, we need to party." Remus said stepping in the room.  
  
"Clearly." James smiled. The room had food and drinks in it and many chairs and couches set out in a circle.  
  
"It's too bad it's too cold to pay Quidditch." Jade said. "It's always more fun at night."  
  
Everyone looked at her.  
  
"You, know, that's not a bad idea." James said.  
  
"Just that's it's snowing." Jade said, pointing to the window.  
  
"All the more fun." Remus joked.  
  
All three girls looked at each other apprehensively.  
  
"Let's wait until its warmer out." Lily suggested.  
  
"Aww." The boys whined.  
  
"Fine, we'll make you a deal." Jade put in. "We will play Quidditch with you guys twice at midnight, before the end of the year. Once when it's snowing, and once when it's hot out. Just not tonight."  
  
"Fine." James answered. And so it was that they spent many hours chatting, eating, drinking, and generally having fun until 4:00 in the morning when they went back to the tower.  
  
"Hey..." Remus said, yawning. "How do you know that playing quidditch is more fun at midnight?" He turned to Jade. Everyone else did too.  
  
"Good night Remus!" she said, and walked up the spiral staircase to her dormitory.  
  
Post 15:  
  
Now that Christmas was over the Gryffindor sixth years had to really get started on their homework. Jade was happy she tackled most of her homework before the ball, but she still needed to finish potions and transfiguration, her two weakest subjects. Still, she didn't have to worry about the essay on dementors that everyone else was working on.  
  
As it turned out, Lily and James' dates to the ball weren't all that fun; Shane just wanted to keep dancing so everyone could see him and he never shut up about himself. "Candy" just wanted to leave to ball so she and James could have some 'real fun' and when he ignored her, she left him and danced with just about every other boy there.  
  
Ophelia and Remus were now labeled ''the sweetest couple" as they never left each other's side and were very cozy with each other. This seemed completely out of Remus' character and Sirius and James were having a lot of fun teasing him about it.  
  
The girls kept to their word and on the second last night of Holidays, Lily, Ophelia, and Jade all got dressed in sweaters, hats, and scarves and met the boys in the common room just before midnight.  
  
"Aww, you're so cute." Sirius said, laughing as he flicked a pom-pom that dangled from a string of Jade's hooded sweater. Jade smiled nastily and shoved him.  
  
"And matching mittens!" Remus said, joining in the fun; for Jade did, have mittens that matched her scarf.  
  
The pitch was completely black when they got there.  
  
"We can't play like this." Peter squeaked.  
  
"What are you talking about? I can see fine." Remus said. "And I can see you, Sirius and James, rolling your eyes at me."  
  
"If everyone just gives it a minute, your eyes will adjust to the darkness." Ophelia put in. She was right. After about two minutes everyone could see well enough to play, and after ten minutes, the moon came out, providing them with more light.  
  
"Almost a full moon." Sirius muttered to himself after he landed. Jade, who landed beside him, heard this.  
  
"What does that matter?" She asked.  
  
"Um- it doesn't." Sirius said in a very non-convincing voice. He never told Jade where he, Remus, James, and Peter go each month.  
  
"Sirius, don't think I haven't noticed that you and the boys go somewhere with the map each month, on a full moon, I'm not that stupid. You guys have been doing it since halfway through third year." Jade looked up into Sirius' eyes. "I know that Remus is a werewolf. He used to go off by himself first and second year. Don't you think we would have figured it out? You call him Moony for goodness sakes." Sirius was shocked, then recovered himself.  
  
"Jade, I wanted to tell you, but its Remus' secret, not mine. I didn't know how you would take it. However... now that we're on secrets... I should probably tell you- wait a minute! What did you mean by we would have figured it out?" Sirius asked. Jade rolled her eyes.  
  
"Hello! Lily and Ophelia aren't stupid either." Sirius slapped himself on the head.  
  
"Damn it! How long has Ophelia know for?"  
  
"Sirius. We figured it out at the beginning of last year." Then Jade smiled. "She doesn't care if he's a werewolf. She's mad about him." Jade's smile faded and then she said: "What secret do you have to tell me?"  
  
Sirius gulped. He knew almost everything about Jade and he never bothered to tell her that he was an Animagus.  
  
"Well... you see, ok, here's the thing;" Sirius said, taking in a deep breath. "When James, Peter, and I found out that Remus was a werewolf we decided that we had to be there for him- while he was transformed- to show our support. It took us a very long time, but in the end, we all managed to become Animagus'. I can transform into a black dog, Peter into a rat, and James into a stag."  
  
Jade did not look very surprised, instead she smiled wider than before.  
  
"Not stupid, Sirius, not stupid. After we figured out why you were leaving every month we realized that you, James, and Peter could not possibly be going in human form. We thought you might be taking a potion or something, but then you boys gave yourselves away." Jade looked around, everyone else was having a snowball fight. "Padfoot? Prongs? Wormtail? Come on now- we realized that all of your nicknames must have something to do with the art of Animagi. Now here's a secret you don't know: Lily and Ophelia are animagus' too. Lily's a cat and Ophelia's a Raven."  
  
"What?!" Sirius said, a bit loudly. "You're joking?"  
  
"Not really, no." Jade looked as if she was going to burst into a fit of laughter.  
  
"Wow. You girls are good."  
  
"We know." Sirius and Jade smiled at each other. Both leaned in to kiss the other. Just as their lips met a snowball hit each of them in the head. They turned to see Remus and James standing a few feet away, laughing. Sirius and Jade looked at each other and smirked. On queue, both picked up some snow and patted it into a ball, getting ready to attack. The Snowball War had started! 


	16. Quidditch and Old Friends

Post 16:  
  
Classes picked up all too quickly and things were very bleak and cold for the sixth year Gryffindors. They spent most of their time in the library and the common room. Doing homework and studying. Things went on pretty uneventfully for the Gryffindors. Jade and Sirius' relationship started to really develop though; with a stolen kiss here, holding hands under the table there, both were now the happiest they had ever been in their life.  
  
Jade was probably happier. After Christmas she stopped taking her potions for a dreamless sleep and she wasn't having any more nightmares. Her life was almost fully back to normal and she knew it was mainly because of Sirius.  
  
In March quidditch practices had picked up again. Gryffindor had won the cup each year since they had been at school and McGonagal was getting used to her house winning. All they needed was for Ravenclaw to beat Hufflepuff in the upcoming match, and then have Gryffindor beat Slytherin. Then they would win.  
  
Post 17:  
  
The Gryffindors did win the Quidditch game and they did win the House cup. Sirius and James felt compelled to remind Snivellus every time they saw him and Lily was nowhere around. She and James now had a truce and were becoming quiet good friends. Remus and Ophelia were still going out though they were past the completely mushy stage of the relationship, thankfully for Remus who needed a break from all the teasing Sirius and James did. Remus and James now knew about Lily and Ophelia though they somehow managed to leave Peter out of the secret. Jade felt that she should tell Lily and Ophelia about her being a Metemorphmagus, which they thought was really neat. She didn't really want James, Remus and Peter to know though. It was more Peter but when she was going to tell them Peter came back from the bathroom. All of her opportunities were cut short. Jade felt slightly sorry for Peter, the girl he had gone to the ball with told him 'I just want to be friends' in February. But she herself could never be happier, she never thought she could fall in love after she was raped, and she never thought she would fall in love so young.  
  
Post 18:  
  
Before Jade knew it, it was Easter holidays and students above third year who were staying over the break were aloud to go to Hogsmede. Jade was staying, as was Sirius, and Remus. Everyone else was going hoe to visit their families. Well, Jade had no one to go home to, Sirius hated his family, and Remus lived with his father who would be away then on an important business meeting. The three of them would, of course, go into Hogsmede.  
  
The weather was beautiful and summer was well on its way. The sun was shining and it was that perfect temperature where you could wear shorts or pants, and still be comfortable. The three of them went to Honey dukes first, naturally, and then to Zonko's. At the end of the day all of them sat in front of the ice cream shop drinking sodas and chatting happily. Jade had decided to take the oppertunity to tell Remus she was a Metamorphmagus. They also laughed about when James flipped Snivellus upside down and revealed his boxers. Speaking of Snivellus...  
  
he walked right by them, talking to someone who Jade could not see quietly. That voice sounded so familiar... where had she heard it before? They kept walking and Jade recognized that unforgettable blonde-silver hair, that stride.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, I think it would be to risky-"  
  
"Shut up! Do you want everyone to know what we're talking about?"  
  
Jade's insides froze. She started to shake and she gripped Sirius' arm. He looked at her, confused for a moment. Then he realized what was going on. He jumped up but she grabbed him and pulled him down again.  
  
"Remus! Help!" Remus also held Sirius down.  
  
"Don't, he's really powerful. He could kill you then disapperate in an instant."  
  
Snape and Malfoy turned around and looked at the three Gryffindors, sitting at the patio.  
  
"Why hello, Jade Loreen was it?" Malfoy said calmly. "What a pleasure."  
  
Sirius looked furious. Malfoy smiled at him.  
  
"You know her, Luscious? How?" Snape asked, looking to Malfoy and then to Jade.  
  
"Are you friends with this girl?"  
  
"Hardly."  
  
"Then you will find it very amusing, I will tell you when you have proven yourself to the master." And with that, he put his arm around Snape and steered him away.  
  
"What was that all about?" Remus asked.  
  
"The master?" Repeated Jade, then she gasped. Of course! "You guys... Snivellus is a deatheater." 


	17. France and A Memory Charm

Post 19:  
  
That night Jade went for a dreamless sleeping draught, knowing she would have a nightmare if she didn't. She continued taking them for the rest of the month, just to make sure. That was one place she did not want to revisit.  
  
Jade had to say; Snape being a deatheater wasn't very surprising at all. He was always wrapped up in things to do with the Dark Arts and he loved when people talked about it.  
  
Jade did NOT like the idea of Snape knowing every single detail of Malfoy raping her. She didn't even give Sirius all the details. But whenever Snape looked at Jade, he looked at her curiously. This made her think that Malfoy hadn't told him yet; either that or he was just so evil it never fazed him.  
  
When everyone came back from the holidays Jade told James about her being a Metamorphmagus and also gave James a few tips on how to get Lily to like him.  
  
From now on everything was pure work. Finals were just around the corner and the workload was disgustingly high. Jade breezed through her DADA and charms studies. It was transfiguration she never was really good at. But Lily always helped her out there.  
  
All too soon, it was time for finals, and Jade wondered what she would do in the summer. She had one week left of Hogwarts and then she would be going home. Jade knew that she would have to move. She could no longer live in that house, or sleep in that bed. Finally, Jade decided to move to West France. There was a small Wizarding town near the shore that she would love to live in.  
  
Post 20:  
  
"Well, that was easy!" Jade said, coming out of the DADA examination. "I bet I got perfect on it, bonus questions and all."  
  
"Yeah, it was pretty easy." Sirius said, putting his arm around her as they walked to lunch. They only had one exam to do; Transfiguration after dinner. Lily was helping Jade review before then, just to make sure she would keep up her average.  
  
"Did anyone notice Snivellu-" James started coughing loudly when he remembered Lily was beside him. "Snape's paper?"  
  
"Yes!" Jade answered. "He wrote more than me! I tried to add stuff in, just to out-do him, my hand cramped up though."  
  
Remus started laughing at her.  
  
"Competitive, are we?" He joked.  
  
That evening Jade wrote the Transfiguration examination and came out feeling confident that she had done a well job.  
  
"The revision really helped, thanks." She told Lily on the way to the common room.  
  
That night the boys snuck off somewhere and came back with their arms full of food from Hogsmede. A party was being held in the tower tonight, to celebrate the end of term. McGonagal came in to tell them all to go to bed but somehow, James, Sirius, and Lupin, managed to give her some butterbeer, and send her on her way, completely forgetting about telling them to put an end to the festivities.  
  
"How'd you do that?" Ophelia asked Remus when they all came back. He looked around and coughed "Memory charm."  
  
"Only for the past ten minutes!" He added, seeing the shocked look on her face. 


	18. The Kiss and the Apperation Test

Post 21:  
  
The end of school drew rapidly to a close and Jade found herself wishing desperately that it wasn't. She boarded the Hogwarts Express with much depression that she had on the way to Hogwarts last September.  
  
"Hey... we'll see each other all the time." Sirius said to Jade, who was sitting on his lap. "We're both taking our apperation tests this year. It won't matter that I live in Glasgow and you live east of La Havre. France, Britain, it doesn't matter."  
  
"And we'll visit." Jade said, flatly.  
  
"Yes." Sirius answered. The train ride was fairly uneventful. Remus and Ophelia went off by themselves somewhere halfway through the journey and Peter was sitting with Nancy Phillips and some other Hufflepuffs. So it was just Sirius, Jade, James, and Lily for most of the ride.  
  
After a long while, the train slowed to a stop. Sirius didn't want to go anywhere. Jade felt so good in his arms, he didn't want to have to let her go. She stood up and straightened her clothes. Then, quite suddenly, Sirius pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. Jade rapped her arms around his neck and felt her body press closer to his.  
  
James and Lily shuffled sideways out of the compartment awkwardly. Jade and Sirius did not notice. They finally broke apart and Sirius pulled Jade into a hug.  
  
Everyone was saying goodbye at Platform 9,3/4. It was very emotional for everyone. They would only have one more year together and then all the fun would be over.  
  
"Evans!" called James, when Lily turned to meet her parents and sulking sister. "Evans wait!"  
  
Lily turned around, James ran up to her.  
  
"Yes?" she asked.  
  
"Well it's just- before you go-" He stopped speaking. Then, he grabbed her and kissed her! Everyone was hooting and whistling loudly.  
  
SMACK!  
  
Lily hit James hard on the face when she finally managed to break away from his strong hold. Then, with absolutely no warning, she grabbed him and kissed him! The hooting and calling went louder than before but they didn't seem to care.  
  
"Wow. You- you kiss good." James said, legs weak.  
  
Lily smiled.  
  
"Owl me." The she turned away and left, Sirius and Remus calling nasty things to her as she went. -"Don't I get a goodbye kiss?"- -" You never kissed me goodbye like that!"-  
  
Jade made her way through the barrier and was back into the muggle world.  
  
She took a taxi to her home and looked around. She would be in France this time next week. Jade went to sleep that night with thoughts of where to start with packing for the next day.  
  
Jade looked around her new home. She lived on the North West side of La Navre. She read Sirius' note again. He would come to stay with her the next day for a while. He passed his apperation test with ease. Jade could hardly wait to see him again.  
  
Post 22:  
  
CRACK!  
  
"Sirius! Hey." Jade said, turning around to see Sirius standing in her living room. He had just apperated.  
  
"Hello." He said, smiling.  
  
"Why are you so happy?" Jade asked, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
"Because." Then he closed the distance between them and pulled Jade into a long, passionate kiss.  
  
They pulled apart briefly and then started kissing again, Jade moving her hands to his hair.  
  
"I missed you, could you tell?" Sirius said, smiling, twenty minutes later when they finally stopped making out.  
  
"When are you going for your apperation test?" He asked.  
  
"Tomorrow, before work." She answered.  
  
They spent the day together and Sirius apperated home in the evening because both of them were working the next day. Sirius was working for the Comet broom company and Jade was starting her work to catch a dragon that was spotted and move it to a new location. She was on a team of fifty and though she actually wanted to do something, she wouldn't be coming into contact with the dragon.  
  
"I'll see you in a few days." Sirius said before he disapperated.  
  
"I know." Jade said. They kissed goodbye and with another CRACK! Sirius was gone. Jade felt very lonely. She was so used to being surrounded by her friends that the summer was depressing. Just three days...  
  
The next morning Jade got up very early and was picked up by two Apperation test officials. They took her to an indoor football field. One stood with her and the other went to where she was supposed to go. They were only a few feet away from each other.  
  
"Now, just visualize where you want to go, and think you're there." The man said who was standing beside her.  
  
Jade thought about standing beside the other man, and then thought she was already there. She heard two CRACK!s that came one after the other, and when Jade opened her eyes she was standing beside the other man.  
  
"Wow! That was so easy!" Jade said. The man beamed at her.  
  
"They always say that." The wizards moved much further apart, about half the field. Jade did the same thing with ease. Then she did the distance of the field. Finally, she had to apperate to somewhere she could not see. Jade passed the test, got her licence, filled out a few papers, and then apperated home to change for work.  
  
CRACK!  
  
"Hey, how was working with dragons?" Sirius asked when Jade apperated into his kitchen.  
  
"Boring. Well, I got to help stun the thing. It was a welsh."  
  
"In France?"  
  
"Yeah, they were confused about how it got there and some people are looking for muggles who might have seen her. We're transporting it today, so I'm not on, and then we're watching it for a while to make sure she re- adjusts to her habitat. It's only five days of work in total, but its something."  
  
"Nice." Sirius and Jade went to James' house for dinner that night.  
  
"So, how's Lily?" Jade asked casually.  
  
"Oh, she's good. I got an owl today from her and we're planning to do something this summer."  
  
Jade raised an eyebrow and smiled. "So you guys are going out?"  
  
James looked around his den, very interested in the rug, and pretended to not hear the question.  
  
Sirius and Jade walked back to his house hand in hand.  
  
They went into his bed room so he could get something to show her, Jade sat crossed-legged on the side of his bed, and took a piece of canvas from him.  
  
It was a painting of her when she was thirteen years old. He was blushing when he showed it to her and thought that there was no way he would ever be able to show her the one where she was in a bikini, behind the waterfall.  
  
"I didn't know you painted!" she said, looking at it. "Wow, it's really good. You made me look nice!"  
  
"what are you talking about?" Sirius said, taking the canvas from her a putting it on the chest at the end of his bed. "You look do nice." He kissed her on the cheek. "Actually," he whispered. "I think you're a lot better than 'nice'."  
  
He moved his fingers through her short red hair.  
  
He kissed her again.  
  
"Sirius..."  
  
"Shh." he put his finger to her lips and then moved it, making way for his mouth. Jade closed her eyes and kissed him back, her heart beating fastly.  
  
"Can I stay with you tonight?" she asked. "I hate being home alone."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Sirius and Jade went to bed late that night, Jade sleeping in his arms. Both of them were still in their clothes and on top of his sheets. 


	19. The Dream

Ok! Right, this is a warning for younger reader out there. This post is going to get descriptive, so yeah, and don't read it at night or you'll have bad dreams...  
  
Post 23:  
  
"Mm... Again I get to wake up and have you in my arms." Sirius said, brushing a piece of Jade's red hair out of her face. "I almost forgot how good it felt."  
  
Jade smiled, got up, and stretched.  
  
"Do you cook?" she asked him. She was completely useless in the kitchen.  
  
"Gourmet style, what would you like?"  
  
Jade ordered her breakfast and Sirius made it for her.  
  
"Thank you, I haven't had French toast in so long!" Jade said.  
  
"But- you live in France."  
  
"Yeah, but until you just said that I never thought of going out for breakfast. I'm still learning my around my town."  
  
The summer passed very quickly with everybody visiting everybody and a few parties. But before they knew it, they had received their Hogwarts letters, had finished their back to school shopping in Diagon Alley, and were aboard the Hogwarts Express again. It was their seventh and final trip they would be taking to Hogwarts.  
  
Post 24:  
  
The ride back to the Hogwarts express was dull and uneventful. James and Lily were cuddling together, Remus and Ophelia were cuddling together, Sirius and Jade were cuddling together, and Peter... left the compartment because he felt awkward. No one knew where he went but it didn't seem to bother anyone either.  
  
When Peter left he never bothered to close the door. This didn't bother anyone until Snivellus walked by, glanced in, scoffed, and kept going. Sirius got up, hexed Snivellus in the back, and closed the compartment door, making it lock.  
  
"Welcome back!" Dumbledore said, arms wide open. "Another year has begun. Alas, it will be the last for some, and the first for others. I trust it will be a good one that fills your mind with much knowledge."  
  
Food appeared in front them and everyone began eating merrily. It depressed Jade; this would be her last Welcoming Feast at Hogwarts. Her best times of her life had been here. She had only a few muggle friends out of school a no family at all. What would she do after Hogwarts?  
  
Sirius put his arm around her shoulder as they walked up to the dormitory.  
  
"This is our last year here, its all fun and games now." He smiled.  
  
"Are you mad?" Lily cried. "Its nothing but study, study, study! We have our NEWTS!"  
  
Sirius shrugged.  
  
That night Jade fell into a restless sleep; Worried about what would happen after Hogwarts. Her dreams turned over to something much more horrible.  
  
Jade set her book, The Power of One, down on her porch ledge and got up. She opened her screen door and went up her narrow staircase to her bedroom, going to get another Margarita from her room. She reached the top of the stairs and felt hands go around her waist and over her mouth.  
  
"Silencio!" He moved his hand away from her mouth and she did not even bother to try to scream: No one would hear her. The man fought with Jade and she kicked him hard. Jade was reaching for his hair and pulled a good chunk out of it. He was very strong and pushed her onto the floor. The man grabbed her by the arm and dragged her across the floor, throwing her onto her bed. He said something else and Jade felt very confused and dazed. Cords shot out of his wand and tied her wrists to her bedposts. Jade knew she had to get away... she became more aware of what was going on. The young blonde man in front of her had just charmed her room so that it was soundproof. Her whole body ached from being beaten and dragged across the carpet; she was only wearing a bikini. Smiling, the man took off his clothes and undid her bikini shirt, throwing it aside. He moved to her bottoms but Jade had locked her ankles together.  
  
"I can solve this." The man snarled. "Fight! It's more fun that way, that's why I didn't tie your feet in the first place." He ripped off her bottoms and climbed on top of her. He noticed her wand and flung it across the room.  
  
Just then, he took off the silencing spell; Jade screamed at the top of her lungs. It didn't matter; no one on the outside could hear a thing. Her legs were pried apart and he kissed her on the neck as he started to push his way into her.  
  
"Jade? Are you alright?" Ophelia asked, looking concerned.  
  
Jade was on the floor in the dormitory, twisted in her blankets and drenched in sweat. Her whole body was shaking.  
  
"You were screaming, and then you fell out of bed." Lily said, helping her up.  
  
"I- I'm fine." Jade said, still shaking.  
  
"Ok, we'll meet you downstairs." Lily said.  
  
Jade jumped into the shower, thankful to feel clean, if only for a while. She hadn't had a nightmare in so long. She was making such progress! What was wrong with her?  
  
"Sirius, we need to talk." Ophelia said under her breath. Sirius followed Ophelia and Lily to the other side of the room.  
  
"We thought you should know, Jade had a nightmare last night."  
  
"It was her first one in a long time, but boy, did it make up for lost time." Lily put in.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.  
  
"She fell out of bed, it was so bad." Lily answered. "And before that she yelled 'Stop, stop it.' about five times."  
  
"Now, we know you've been sworn to secrecy and you know something about her that we don't, but we're not completely stupid and we can guess what happened to her." Ophelia said quickly. "Just- take care of her, she deserves someone good."  
  
At that moment Jade came downstairs, hair still wet from her shower. 


	20. The Permanent Reminder

Post 25:  
  
"Ah... you haven't moved much." The young man said, stepping into the room. Then he laughed... she was still tied to her bed. "I hope you don't mind, I cooked myself some breakfast. I would have made you some too but I thought you might try to bite my hand off." He smirked and looked at his arm. There was a scar there that looked like someone scratched him very hard. Jade did that in the struggle the night before.  
  
Jade glared at the man; he was only in his boxers and she noticed a funny tattoo on his forearm of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. The man noticed her staring at it.  
  
What? Its called a tattoo, you have one on your back anyhow, of a dragon." He looked around her room.  
  
"Oh, a Gryffindor, how unfortunate." He said, looking at her Gryffindor tie, which was over her closet door. "They always were a weak lot."  
  
Jade kicked the man hard; he was finally standing in her range. He yelled in pain and Jade smiled. Wandless, with no hands, she still managed to not be completely useless.  
  
Sneering the man took off his boxers and climbed on top of her again. Jade struggled harder than before. 'Not again, oh God please, not again!'  
  
"Oh, don't pretend you don't want me to do this to you. I know you enjoyed every minute of it last time.'  
  
Jade shook the horrible memory from her and concentrated on the lecture McGonagal was giving everyone. Jade held her head high with pride; she had gone through a horrible experience and survived. And now that she knew who did it to her, she was going to get even. She rubbed her left shoulder. Jade made a promise to herself, and she kept in there as a reminder.  
  
Post 26:  
  
Sirius rolled out of bed. Who ever made James Potter captain of the Quidditch team was mad! He was having them practice every single morning before classes and had imposed a 9:00 p.m. curfew on the team so that they would be well rested and not get sick. He was also forcing them to take vitamins every day.  
  
This simple task turned out to be very unpleasant for Jade as she had always had trouble with swallowing pills. So every morning, Jade was found with six vitamins in a glass of water, stirring it with a spoon until they dissolved.  
  
Though the workload was now ridiculously high, the Seventh year Gryffindors found time to go to Hogsmede in late October. Everyone was in the Three Broomsticks drinking Butterbeer and Sherry, laughing as they recalled a few of their best pranks.  
  
Later on Sirius and Jade walked around alone, hand in hand. The weather was, for once, beautiful and Jade started to take off her zip-up sweater when she remembered something, and put it back on.  
  
Sirius got a glimpse of something odd looking on Jade's left arm. She had started taking off her sweater and she had a t-shirt on underneath.  
  
He thought it looked like a tattoo but he didn't get a good look at it because she quickly changed her mind, and put her sweater back on.  
  
What's on your arm?" he asked.  
  
"Hmm... oh- nothing. Just a new tattoo, nothing exciting." Jade looked the other way, fiddling with one of her earrings.  
  
"Well let's see it." Sirius said. He always thought Jade was so cool for liking piercing and tattoos but you have to stop somewhere.  
  
Looking uneasy, Jade took off her sweater and pushed back her short sleeve onto her shoulder. There, in black ink, said:  
  
I'm going to watch him suffer  
  
I'm going to watch him scream in pain  
  
I'm going to take away everything he has  
  
I'm going to smile as he dies and then  
  
I'm going to laugh when I see his grave  
  
"What's this?" Sirius asked.  
  
"A promise I made to myself." Jade answered, pulling down her sleeve and throwing her sweater back on.  
  
"Look," Sirius said, looking into her eyes. "I know the bastard deserves to die but you don't need to go parading the fact that you're out to kill him around on your arm!"  
  
Jade took a step back from him, feeling confronted.  
  
"I wanted to parade it!" she shoot back. Then she turned around and ran quickly away.  
  
Jade turned a corner, ran into a store and went to the back. Then, she closed her eyes and transformed herself into an old woman with a cane. She cane out of the store a second later, hobbling.  
  
'Sirius you're such an ass! What have you done?' Sirius thought as Jade turned a corner. He ran after her but when he turned the corner she had disappeared. He couldn't believe it! How'd she get away so fast? Out of the corner of his eye he saw an old woman with a cane come out of an antique shop. There were hardly any people around here. Then he realized that one of these people was Jade in disguise. He cursed under his breath and headed back to the main street. He would have to wait until later to apologize to Jade.  
  
Jade went to the edge of Hogsmede as the old woman and then transformed back to herself. She went to her dormitory and put her things on her bed, feeling exhausted.  
  
For once Sirius didn't understand her. She needed to remind herself everyday to be strong, and that she was going to make Luscious Malfoy pay. He was going to pay if it took her whole life to do it. 


	21. Escaping Filch

Ok... I just wanted to say that this year will be going a lot quicker than the last... I wanted to show the relationship develop and year seven will wiz by, but then there's AFTER Hogwarts... something I'll take my time with...  
  
well, anyway, here goes!  
  
Post 27:  
  
The next morning Jade came downstairs and Sirius was waiting for her.  
  
"Jade..." He said, approaching her. He took both of her hands and led her to a couch, sitting her down. He sat down in front of her and put his hands on her waist.  
  
"Look, I didn't mean to come off like that, I was just shocked."  
  
"You just don't understand it, do you?" Jade said, looking into Sirius' deep blue eyes.  
  
"That man has destroyed my life. Yes, I'm past it but I will never forget it. I want to be able to move on with my life. I want to be with you, but when I am I don't want to have the thoughts of him and what he did to me in the back of my mind. I want it to be special, magical.  
  
"I need to remember that I will get revenge so that I don't have to dwell on it."  
  
"I'm sorry." Sirius said.  
  
"I'm sorry." Jade replied. Sirius leaned forward and kissed her softly.  
  
"So..." he whispered mischievously. "What was that bit about you wanting to be with me?" Jade's cheeks flushed and she looked away. Sirius grinned madly.  
  
"I want to be with you." He whispered. "And I want you to be happy. And if that means you tattoo your whole body than I'm fine with it."  
  
Jade pulled Sirius into a long hug. Sirius did understand! He had been her best friend since she was 11. They had known each other for over six years and only one of those years they had been more than friends. This would be their final year together. In her head, Jade had made up her mind about what she was going to do, though she wasn't yet sure when. It would be for Sirius, and for herself. For love and for strength.  
  
Post 28:  
  
Jade and Sirius's relationship returned to bliss once again, with the occasional argument that never lasted long. Finally everything was going Sirius' way... except... his brother Regulus was a deatheater. Not shocking, and they had never been close but Regulus had told Sirius over the summer that he thought he was getting in too deep. Regulus started re- thinking his decision to become a deatheater at such a young age and feared for his life.  
  
Regulus was now just fresh out of school, and he wanted to be a broom maker.  
  
But Voldemort made sure that that never happened. On the first of December Sirius received a letter from home (something he never received). He knew that Regulus was dead before he opened it. Sirius grieved for his brother for a while, mostly, he lay awake at night re- living the few good memories he shared with his brother.  
  
Dumbledore decided to throw another Christmas ball because of the success the last one.  
  
When Sirius asked Jade to the ball, he was shocked to have her turn him down.  
  
"I have other plans for us on Christmas night." Jade said, grinning. Sirius looked confused but Jade kissed him to prevent any further questions. This had to be perfect. Nervous, Jade went to sleep late that night, thinking about what she was going to do to make Sirius' Christmas the best of his life.  
  
He had done so much for her...  
  
Post 29:  
  
Sirius had no idea what Jade was planning for Christmas and the suspense was eating at him. A number of times he tried to trick her into telling him but she was too smart. He also tried to get Remus and James to trick it out of her but Jade's lips were sealed.  
  
She seemed to be really getting on with her life and he was glad. No one deserves the torment that she had to go through in the past year.  
  
Winter had arrived and extra fires were being lit all over the school to keep warm. The dungeons were, of course, cold and gloomy as usual. But not even the dungeons could dampen the Gryffindor's sprits. Christmas was approaching!  
  
"Come on, no more games, we must work!" Lily said in a panic as her friends got ready to play in the freshly fallen snow.  
  
"It's first day of break!" James said, disbelievingly. "How can you expect us to work?"  
  
In the end, because James didn't want to get in a fight with his girlfriend, the compromised to work for an hour and then go outside.  
  
Everyone quietly walked through the Entrance hall that evening an hour after curfew, soaked in snow that was starting to melt.  
  
"I don't know why we don't have the map." Peter said as James peered around a corner to check if the coast was clear.  
  
"Because it would have gotten wet, now shut up." Sirius growled. Filch had been in a very bad mood lately because of some fireworks the marauders had set off in his office a few nights before.  
  
Peter yelped and flew flat on his back, taking Jade down with him. He had slipped in a puddle. Out of nowhere Mrs. Norris, Filch's kitten, came into view, meowing loudly.  
  
"Get off me!" Jade said, pushing Peter over.  
  
"Run for it!" Ophelia said, pointing to the cat before them. The seven Gryffindors ran through the hall and up several staircases, hearing Filch yelling a way off.  
  
Remus quickly directed everyone through a secret passage way and then they continued running until they approached the Fat Lady.  
  
"Pixie dust." Lily breathed.  
  
Everyone collapsed on the couches, Peter clutching his heart.  
  
"Nice going." James said, frowning at Peter.  
  
The next morning everyone slept in and missed breakfast completely. Lily, furious with herself, spent the day working on a Charms essay... it was three extra rolls long. 


	22. The Christmas Gift

Post 30:  
  
Jade slept in on Christmas morning and awoke in a very good mood. She came downstairs humming and joined in with everyone in opening presents. Breakfast was huge; the house-elfs out-did themselves this year.  
  
Jade got a parcel in the mail and refused to open it at the table for everyone to see. After breakfast she ran to her dormitory with it, drew her hangings, and opened the package. In side it was a bottle filled with a light-pink potion. It came with a note telling her to drink the whole thing, it would last for three months.  
  
Smiling, Jade placed it in her wardrobe, beside her plain white night dress that she just bought in the last Hogsmede visit.  
  
Sirius was smiling all day... he couldn't imagine what Jade was planning but he knew it'd be good.  
  
Mistletoe was hanging over quite a few doorways and Sirius and Jade got caught under everyone together (So did Remus with Ophelia, and James with Lily). They spent the day lazing around and doing nothing. But as the hour of the ball drew steadily closer, people retreated to their dorms to get ready. Jade told Sirius to wait for her in the common room- she had to do a few things.  
  
Jade slipped into her nightdress and took out her potion. She gulped it down quickly. Jade thought it tasted surprisingly good. Everyone was going downstairs now.  
  
Jade went to the common room, it was now quiet, something that didn't happen too often.  
  
"Jade?" Sirius asked, looking at her.  
  
"Is everyone gone?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
Jade closed the distance between them and kissed Sirius, wrapping her arms around him.  
  
Post 31:  
  
They parted and Jade looked into Sirius' deep blue eyes. There was no turning back now.  
  
Slowly, they made their way up the boys' staircase and into Sirius' dormitory room, which was empty: everyone was at the ball.  
  
Sirius pulled Jade closer to him, feeling her heart beat against his. Her hands were undoing his shirt and they moved over his chest. Sirius could see where this was leading.  
  
"Are you sure?" he whispered. Sirius loved Jade and didn't want to rush her. She smiled and nodded. He put his wand down and his fingers gently moved the zipper of her dress downwards. Jade looked around, a look of worry on her face. Then, with a flick of her wand, the lights in the room extinguished, and Jade put her wand on the bedside table.  
  
Jade felt bad for putting out the lights but she didn't really want Sirius to see her naked. She felt her dress slid down her body.  
  
Her fingers stumbled for a moment on his pants button and giggled when he kissed her on the neck.  
  
They were both in the underwear now, kissing each other slowly, savoring each moment they had together. Jade sat on his bed and Sirius pushed her softly onto her back, leaning over her as he closed the hangings around them with one hand.  
  
Jade undid her bra strap and Sirius pulled it away and tossed it to the floor through a small opening in the hangings. After a few moments they were both completely undressed, their bodies pressed against each other, kissing passionately.  
  
"I-I love you." Sirius whispered. He had stumbled in the beginning but got in out strong, and he meant it.  
  
Jade almost cried at the sound of those words.  
  
"I love you too." She smiled. This night was going to be perfect. Sirius could still see in the darkness that his eyes were adjusted too. He could see Jade's soft ivory skin and her blue and gold eyes, and her chest rise and fall as she breathed. His hands traveled up from her waist, over her body and he pulled her head closer to his.  
  
Jade shivered. They clumsily fumbled with the blankets for a moment until they were both under them, kissing as they did.  
  
Post 32:  
  
Sirius rolled off Jade and both breathed heavily. They lay beside one another for a long time until both fell asleep, moments before the tired footsteps of three sixth year Gryffindor boys entered the room.  
  
Jade rolled over and opened her eyes. She was in Sirius' bed but he wasn't there.  
  
"Good morning." Jade looked to the foot of the bed. There, in the corner, sat Sirius in his boxers, trying madly to sketch something. Jade pulled the sheets closer to her body and sat up.  
  
"What are you drawing?" Jade yawned.  
  
"You." Sirius answered, ruffling his hand through his hair. "But it's all wrong." He frowned. Jade reached over and picked up the small pile of papers that were beside him. They were all beautiful! It seemed as though he spent the whole morning sketching pictures of her sleeping.  
  
"I want this one." Jade said, looking at one of them. It was a picture of her bare back, with the sheets just covering her hips and legs. She was on her side and her hair was slightly messy.  
  
"Please." Jade looked up at Sirius who nodded and kissed her on the cheek briefly.  
  
"Everyone's to brunch." he said, grinning devilishly.  
  
Jade laughed and got up, gathering her clothes that littered part of the floor.  
  
"We should get dressed and join them." Jade said.  
  
"Need help?"  
  
After Jade and Sirius dressed each other, Jade went to her own dormitory and changed into some casual wear. She ran a brush through her shoulder- length red hair and then pulled it back messily. Sirius was waiting for her in the common room. Just as the portrait hole opened, some younger students came in, all eyeing them suspiciously.  
  
Sirius reached out and took Jade's hand, kissing it and then swinging it in his own.  
  
"Good morning, mate!" Sirius said, clapping James on the back.  
  
James raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Why, Padfoot, you seem in a very good mood today." He said, glancing to Jade who took a long sip of orange juice.  
  
Lily and Ophelia were looking from Jade to Sirius.  
  
"Tell me," Remus said, "Do you own a bra? I didn't think you wore them but this morning when I got up, I noticed one on the floor by your bed." A smile curved his lips now. Sirius just smiled back: nothing could ruin this day for him, nothing. 


	23. Snapped back to Reality

Post 33:  
  
"Sirius..." Jade called out. She turned over in her bed, unaware that she was calling her boyfriend's name in her sleep. "Sirius..."  
  
"Wake up!" Lily shook Jade awake.  
  
"What?" Jade asked in an annoyed voice. "It's still break, I don't have to be up yet! Besides... I was having a really good dream."  
  
A look of comprehension dawned on Lily's face and she smiled broadly.  
  
"What?" Jade asked.  
  
"I woke you up because you were calling for Sirius. I guess I misinterpreted why you were calling him."  
  
Jade blushed furiously and then threw her pillow at Lily. Both girls burst out laughing.  
  
"Well I'm up now." Jade rolled out of bed and opened her wardrobe.  
  
After breakfast the seventh year Gryffindors sat at the long study table in the corner of the common room with books and notes littering the area.  
  
Jade was sitting on Sirius' lap and could tell by the way he was writing with his quill that he was only pretending to concentrate on his essay; his mind was somewhere else.  
  
She kissed him playfully on his neck and then turned back to her own essay, which wasn't coming along any quicker than Sirius'.  
  
Lily's owl flew into the room with the newspaper. She gasped as she looked at the title and then read the article out loud.  
  
Twenty-five muggles killed, Ministry reveals it was the work of You-Know- who:  
  
In the past week a large group of Death eaters have been torturing and killing muggles. They have been on the move for the past month but the Ministry can no longer ignore these brutal actions, and the death eaters won't be slowing down any time soon. They are said to be You-Know-who's closest supporters and pride themselves in each attack by sending up a symbol in the sky over the house in which they have just killed. This green mark in the sky is in the shape of a skull and has a snake coming out of its mouth. The sign can be viewed on page three. If anyone has seen this sign or any suspicious characters they are asked to notify the ministry immediately.  
  
Jade felt her breath catch in her chest. That sign in the sky... it reminded her of Lucius Malfoy, her rapist, though she could not remember why.  
  
"Flip to page three!" She yelled. But instead of waiting for Lily to flip through the newspaper, she snatched it and went through it herself, fully aware that her friends were watching her in alarm.  
  
There. There was a photo of the tattoo that her rapist bore on his left forearm. So, he was a death eater! And that meant that Snape was too! She knew it... ever since she saw them in Hogsmede last Easter...  
  
Jade felt sick, moved to the couch, and laid back on it. Her head was spinning. How many people knew each disgusting detail of her encounter with Malfoy? How many jokes has she been the butt of? And how many times had they all sat around, laughing about it all? With some bit of pride she felt her left shoulder and mouthed the words of her tattoo silently. He was going to pay.  
  
Sirius moved, sat at her feet and put them on his lap. He began massaging her legs, sending a few shivers up her back when he moved closer to her thighs.  
  
"Are you ok?" he asked.  
  
"I am now." Jade leaned forward and kissed him. "I'm the luckiest girl alive; to have you for my boyfriend."  
  
Post 34:  
  
Things in the news did not improve at all. In fact, they became worse. Attacks were happening regularly and now shops in Hogsmede and Diagon were closing early for fear of the attackers.  
  
Books like "How to protect you home' and 'What to do when a Dark Wizard comes knocking' were selling like crazy...  
  
The break was over now and a seventh year Ravenclaw girl dropped out of Hogwarts to go home to her younger brother after her father and mother were killed.  
  
Everyone was safe at Hogwarts from these attacks but unfortunately the school-tension was at an all-time high. Slytherins and Gryffinors would hex each other in the hall for no reason... spill things into their potions and once a food fight broke out at lunch in which over forty students received detention for.  
  
It was a full moon and Jade sat with Lily and Ophelia, all talking about their boyfriends and how they secretly disliked Peter. It was a light- hearted evening; which was becoming rare.  
  
"Ok, so what do you want to do after Hogwarts?" Lily asked Ophelia.  
  
"NO idea... I'm taking courses so I can become an auror but I want to move up the ranks and become a hit-wizard. I used to want to become an unspeakable but I don't know what they do, so how do I know I'd like it?"  
  
Lily and Jade smiled and nodded in agreement. Everyone knew that Jade was going to become an auror and everyone knew Lily wanted to work for the Ministry, for International Affairs.  
  
The girls went to bed early that night; there was no way they would stay up until dawn to wait for the boys.  
  
Jade went to bed that night dreaming about becoming an auror and fighting Lucius Malfoy... he begged her for mercy but she laughed in his face and then killed him. It was, a very good dream.  
  
*Ok People don't forget to REVIEW!* 


	24. The Room Of Requirement and cookies

These next posts are for Mornel, my best friend who I miss terribly, and Blue Ducky who gave me such wonderful responses! Post 35:  
  
The next morning Professor McGonagal handed out applications to all of the students to fill out. They were to be filled out and then sent to the Post- school of each students choice.  
  
James applied for a job in the department of Magical Games and Sports but was also trying out to be on a professional Quidditch team! Lily filled out five copies and sent them to different places; she wanted to work for the ministry.  
  
Peter (who was now dating his Hufflepuff ex-girlfriends friend's younger sister) sent one out to a small one-month training course for shop keeping.  
  
Remus already had a job lined up for him in the Office For Werewolf Support Services and would do a month of training in the summer (not like he needed it). Ophelia and Jade both filled out applications for Auror School, as did Sirius.  
  
After all of the applications for Post-school had been filled out and re- collected, McGonagal told everyone to expect responses the next month. Jade found herself feeling nervous about her acceptance and wondered what she would do if she didn't get in. She could always fight dragons again...  
  
It was past midnight and Jade snuck out with Sirius, Remus, and James to pull a prank with them. (Peter had a detention.)  
  
"Shh..." James hissed. as they went into an empty classroom. He pulled out the Marauder's map and looked at it.  
  
"Alright... two doors down at the left side of this hall." He swiped it clean and put it back in his pocket. They walked across the hall and went into the room two doors away.  
  
"Excellent!" Remus said, looking around.  
  
"So what are we waiting for?" Jade asked smiling.  
  
They were in the Slytherin laundry room and all of the house elves had grouped all of the clean laundry in a boys and girls section. On top of each small pile of clothes was a note telling the house elves who the items belonged to.  
  
"He he he... how would Snivelus like Sandy Parkinson's pink thong?" Sirius asked, switching the nametags on the laundry piles and then moving them into opposite sections. Everyone knew Sandy Parkinson was the Slytherin scank. Hurriedly, Jade switched around some girls clothes with the boys, her friends helping out.  
  
"Ok, we have three minutes before the house elves come back to deliver the laundry to the Slytherin dorms." Remus said, checking his watch. James finished his last switch and they all ran back to common room, laughing as they went.  
  
The next morning Jade smiled and waved to Snape from across the Great Hall at breakfast.  
  
He glared back. Everyone in the Slytherin house was very quiet and awkward looking.  
  
This made the marauders laugh harder than the night before.  
  
"Good one!" Peter squeaked when they told him the prank. "I have another detention because after I finished serving mine I accidentally knocked over Professor McGonagal's assignment pile."  
  
Post 36:  
  
"Aww..." Peter groaned, looking at his application response. "They'll only accept me if I pull up my Transfiguration! I'm going to be up all night from now until the end of the year studying!" His envelope was on the floor and he threw his response down beside it.  
  
James had already received his acceptance into the ministry the day before and was going to try out for the Montrose Magpies quidditch team after Hogwarts got out.  
  
Remus (to no one's surprise) was accepted immediately into the Office For Werewolf Support Services.  
  
Sirius, Jade, and Ophelia looked at one another. All holding their letters in their hands. Jade gave hers to Sirius, Sirius gave hers to Ophelia, and Ophelia gave hers to Jade.  
  
On the count of three they opened them and looked at each other.  
  
"You got in!" Jade cried to Ophelia.  
  
"So did you, Sirius!" said Ophelia.  
  
Jade looked at Sirius, he looked disappointed. "Oh no!' Jade thought.  
  
"Jade, I'm sorry." Sirius winced. "But... it looks like..."  
  
Jade felt a pang of disappointment in her stomach.  
  
"It looks like you're going to be stuck with me to go through training, 'cause you got in, baby!" He laughed and kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Sirius, you Pratt! Don't ever trick me like that again!" But she was smiling and after she smacked him playfully on the arm he grabbed her and kissed passionately.  
  
"Hello." Jade breathed, after they finally broke apart. She moved a piece of his black hair out of his face and kissed him sweetly on his warm lips.  
  
"You know..." He whispered in Jade's ear. "We haven't been to the room of Requirement since fifth year."  
  
Jade arched her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"And I could think of a few other things we could use it for..."  
  
Jade giggled and blushed. She looked into his deep blue eyes and nodded.  
  
They turned back to the group.  
  
"Ahh, well... we must go to the- er- Library! To study... so, we'll see you later, bye!" Sirius grabbed Jade's hand and pulled her out of the room quickly. She laughed as she went.  
  
"This is nice!" Jade said, opening the door to the room of Requirement. There was a big bed in the middle of the room with rose petals all over the floor and scented candles lit around the side of the room.  
  
She smile at Sirius who smiled back.  
  
"I love you." He whispered, kissing her neck.  
  
She smiled at those words. "I love you."  
  
Post 37:  
  
Sirius rolled off of Jade and breathed heavily.  
  
"That," Jade said. "Was amazing."  
  
Sirius smiled at her and kissed her neck.  
  
"You weren't bad yourself, not bad at all." He continued kissing her and she giggled slightly.  
  
"Sirius... we have to go to dinner..." He was tickling her and Jade was laughing like mad.  
  
"S-stop!" She laughed. "I- I can't breathe!" Sirius stopped tickling her and wrapped her in his strong arms.  
  
"I want to stay here longer too but we'll miss dinner."  
  
"So, I'll nic some food from the kitchens later... come on!" Jade looked at Sirius, he had given her his puppy eyes.  
  
"Ahh... alright!" No one could ever say no to him when he looked at them like that!  
  
The two of them lay there for hours until Jade's stomach groaned.  
  
They both laughed, dressed, and snuck to the kitchens.  
  
"Fmanks!" Jade said to the house elves, her mouth full of food. They shoved more food onto her plate which was already filled with things. She looked at Sirius and laughed.  
  
"Have enough food then?" She asked once she had swallowed the food that was in her mouth.  
  
In his arms were two large plates, both piled high with food.  
  
"Uhh... no, I need another roll." He joked. Immediately another house elf fetched him a bun and put it on one of his plates.  
  
"Come on." Jade said, stepping out of the door and looking back at the huge portrait with a pear on it.  
  
Laughing quietly, they walked up the main stairs and down the hall.  
  
"Shush." Jade whispered, stopping.  
  
"What?" Sirius whispered back.  
  
Jade held her hand to her mouth and listened.  
  
"It's nothing," She said after a moment. "I thought I heard someone coming but I was wrong." They started walking again, Jade biting into a roll that was in her arms.  
  
"Hello." Professional McGonagal said, rounding the corner and spotting them. "And why did we sneak to the kitchens at-" she checked her watch "half past eight?"  
  
Sirius swallowed his peice of chicken.  
  
"We skipped dinner so Sirius could help me with my- transfiguration!" Jade said, looking at Sirius meaningfully. "You know... because I was having trouble in class with the Snatius switch."  
  
McGonagal thought this over in her head.  
  
"But I've got it down now." Jade said, trying to look truthful.  
  
"Good, I should like to see you do it!" Professor McGonagal answered.  
  
Here Jade was stumped. She had been having trouble with that very switching spell and knew she would not be able to do it.  
  
"And you will." Sirius cut in. "Tomorrow in class. It was meant to surprize you."  
  
McGonagal smiled at last.  
  
"Oh alright, I suppose since it was to study." Jade and Sirius grinned.  
  
"But don't do it again! I'm taking off one point for each of you from Gryffindor." she walked by, turned around, took a cookie from Sirius and continued on her way.  
  
"That was close!" Sirius said, plopping on a couch in the Gryffindor room.  
  
"Woa!" Jade cried. Sirius had pulled her on top of him by her waist as she walked past him.  
  
"Mmm... mashed potatoes and french toast, my favourites!" Jade said, looking at her huge plate where the above mentioned were at the bottom of a pile of other food.  
  
"You are so weird." Sirius said, kissing her on the neck before turning to his own plate (scrambled eggs and steak). 


	25. Potter Shrinks And Gryffindors Party

38:  
  
"Reducto!" A voice yelled.  
  
A blast of light hit James square in the back and all of a sudden he grew shorter. Much shorter.  
  
"Where'd he go?" Jade asked.  
  
"He shrunk." Peter cried, pointing down, look. Jade, Sirius, Remus, Ophelia and Peter, all looked down to see a miniature version of James who looked very annoyed.  
  
"Who hit you?" Remus asked.  
  
"No idea." James said.  
  
"I bet it was a Slytherin." Peter muttered.  
  
"Engorgio." Lily said, and with a flick of her wand he was back to his original size.  
  
"So, how shall we get back at Snivellus?" Sirius said.  
  
Lily gave him a warning look.  
  
"Oh come off it, we all know it was him. Besides, he's a deatheater."  
  
The next morning Snape was found arguing with Professor McGanagal in the hall way and he was wearing a large hat.  
  
"I must have it turned back!" He yelled.  
  
"You can't switch it back, you have to wait for it to fade, it will only be a week! Now take off that ugly hat." She retorted.  
  
"No." He replied coolly.  
  
"Detention, and ten points from Slytherin. Now take off the hat." A large group had formed around them now, including the marauders.  
  
"I can't do that."  
  
"FIFTY points from Slytherin and if I have to ask you again you will have detention every night until you graduate!"  
  
Snape removed the hat to the immense pleasure of the Gryffindors, who burst out laughing at the sight of his puke-green hair.  
  
"That wasn't mean enough." Sirius whispered.  
  
"I know but Lily," James said. "Thinks we should keep our distance from him, not 'enrage him further'."  
  
"Hey Snivellus, nice hair!" Jade cried out over the roars of her fellow students. Snape glared at her and then ran down the hall towards the dungeons.  
  
"What do we have first?" Ohpelia asked.  
  
"Transfiguration." Remus answered.  
  
39:  
  
"I'm so bored." James said one night in the common room. "Quidditch doesn't start up again until next week."  
  
"I know." Sirius agreed.  
  
"What do you guys want to do?" Remus asked.  
  
"I don't know, what do you want to you?"  
  
"You want to trash the Slytherin common room?" Jade asked.  
  
"Yeah, ok."  
  
"Quidditch practice tomorrow!" James shouted. "I've booked the pitch."  
  
"He booked the pitch two months ago." Jade whispered to Lily and Ophelia.  
  
"So-"  
  
"Everyone to bed." Sirius and Jade said together. The team trudged upstairs but Jade was no where near tired; it was only 8:30 p.m.  
  
"The weather's nice enough." James told everyone that morning at breakfast. "The ground's still a bit soft though."  
  
Jade read the morning paper while Sirius rubbed his feet against hers under the table.  
  
She looked up and smiled at him, he smiled back.  
  
"Are you guys listening to me? We're playing Ravenclaw at the finals. Now I know you all though we could beat them but they slaughtered Slytherin in the last match. Their Chasers are really good. So, lets knock them off their brooms a few times, shall we?" James said, looking at Jade and Sirius.  
  
"Whatever you say Potter." Jade responded without taking her eyes off her paper.  
  
Jade kicked off from the muddy ground. The air was crisp and felt fresh and icy as it whipped against her skin. She had the usual sensation of flying in her stomach and she winked at Sirius as she flew by him across the pitch.  
  
"And Ravenclaw are starting with a twenty point lead in this game from their shocking performance against the Slytherins. Of course, the Slytherins were slaughtered because they're all incompetent fools who-"  
  
"Lupin, watch yourself."  
  
"Ahem, back to the game..."  
  
Jade swung her bat in her hand and waited for a bludger to come near her.  
  
James was right, the Ravenclaw chasers were pretty good.  
  
Sirius hit a bludger to her, which she hit to a Ravenclaw chaser who had to move out of the way to avoid being hit. In turn, he missed catching the quaffle and a Gryffindor got it.  
  
They ended the match an hour later and Gryffindor won the house cup by twenty points.  
  
"I think this calls for a celebration." Peter said.  
  
"Quite right my friend." Sirius responded, putting his arm around Jade who kissed him on the cheek briefly.  
  
The boys came into the common room much later with their arms full of Butterbeer and chocolate frogs and other sweets.  
  
Remus brought his portable radio into the room and they tuned into the Wizarding Wireless Network. It was a very light evening and Lily didn't even do any studying; even though finals were just three months away.  
  
"I'm so excited about going to The Auror Academy." Ophelia said later on that evening, sitting on Remus' lap.  
  
"Me too." Sirius answered.  
  
"Me too." Jade said. "A bit harder... yes... perfect." Sirius was giving her back rub.  
  
"You know you owe me one now." Sirius said after he finished.  
  
"Fine, get up." Jade and Sirius switched places and Jade began massaging his shoulders. 


	26. The End, And A Beginning

40:  
  
The Gryffindor Quidditch team won the game against Ravenclaw by 100 points. The match had lasted over an hour and afterwards, James didn't stop speaking of it for many more.  
  
This meant that Gryffindors also won the Quidditch cup, which meant there was a party in the common room later on. All of the drinks and sweets were Courtesy of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, of course.  
  
Exams were stressful for Lily, who kept panicking and waking up in the middle of the night to make sure she hadn't forgotten things. She ended up graduating the top of the year. With Ophelia second.  
  
The day before the train left, Jade spent the day in silence, in her room, not coming down for any meals. She packed away her things slowly and with much caution. Her photo album... a rose that Sirius had given her perfectly preserved by magic... her posters of the Holyhead Harpies quidditch team... removing her favourite stones that she had collected from the grounds when she was younger from her window ledge... an eagle feather she had found, stuck in between the pages of a book so it would not spoil.... and in the evening, she wept, silently.  
  
* Along the side of her bed frame, using her wand, she wrote;  
  
Jade Lorien, my true home from 19- to 19- and forever.  
  
The next morning Jade ate a large breakfast, having something from each dish. Tasting everything. Her last Hogwarts breakfast.  
  
"Come on, let's get a cabin on the train." Remus told Ophelia, putting his arms around her shoulder. They walked off ahead of the group and got the very last compartment of the train for the group.  
  
Remus, Ophelia, Lily, James, Sirius, Jade, and Peter all squeezed into the compartment. The good thing about it was, there was a large window at the back as well as the side so as the train moved further and further away, Jade got a shrinking image of the Castle, if only for a little while.  
  
"Ah, our last train ride." Remus said.  
  
"On to bigger and better things." James said.  
  
"And bigger and better pranks." Sirius added.  
  
"On who? Your boss at your work? You'd get fired."  
  
"Only if we get caught." James said, brushing the comment away.  
  
"Besides," Sirius said. "How often do we get caught? We're invincible."  
  
"What about when you guys put a rat down Susanne Morgan's shirt?" Ophelia asked.  
  
"Or when you used Snape as an example of just how many hexs a person can endure before passing out in front of the DADA class because the Professor had fallen ill and you decided you would substitute?" Lily asked.  
  
"Or the time when you gave Professor Sedley a blue beard?" Jade asked.  
  
"That was you!" Sirius cried.  
  
"Oh yeah... well what about-"  
  
But Sirius had put his hand to her mouth to stop her.  
  
"The point is, we haven't be caught in the past two years for any pranks at all." said James.  
  
It started to rain.  
  
By the way... in the last post I put that Jade went to school from 19- to 19-. This is because I was unsure of when the Marauders went to school and i was too lazy to look it up. Sorry for any confusion.  
  
Post 41!:  
  
The Hogwarts express slowed to stop and Jade sighed. The rain was coming down harder than ever now.  
  
Everyone stood up and stretched their legs, leaving the compartment. Jade lingered.  
  
"Come on." Sirius said, taking her hand in his. "Hogwart's was all of our homes, and I can almost guarantee that we'll be back."  
  
Jade smiled and they walked out of the compartment and off of the train together.  
  
"Well, I'm going home. Time to unpack and what-not." Jade said an hour later when she had said her goodbyes to everyone in her year.  
  
Jade apperated to her house in West France. It was very empty and plain. She put her trunk in her room and then decided that she needed to make her house more cheerful.  
  
Jade went around opening all of the drapes and all of the windows. She apperated into a jungle somewhere on the Pacific Rim and collected bamboo, orchids and other exotic flowers. Then she came back and put them in glasses and set them around her home.  
  
Everyone went to Potter's house for dinner that night. It was a feast. Full of laughter, good food, and many funny impressions of other students they didn't like. Mainly Slytherins, and mainly Snivellus.  
  
James hit his glass with the side of his spoon a few times to get every one's attention. "I have a very important announcement to make!"  
  
Lily kicked him in the shin.  
  
"Ow!" He said. "Alright, Lily and I have a very special announcement to make."  
  
She beamed up at him.  
  
"We're engaged!" She cried. Everyone started hooting and clapping as they kissed.  
  
"I was going to tell them!" James said.  
  
"You were taking too long!" 


	27. The Order Of the Phoenix

42:  
  
Training for Sirius, Jade, and Ophelia was very difficult. For two thirds of the time, they went home every night and in order to graduate, you had to pass the last third of the course were they took you out "in the field" a closed off area where you had to spend with your classmates trying to complete a large variety of tasks.  
  
In the end, all three passed and became fully-fledged Aurors. Ophelia graduated with the highest score for Aim/Duelling, Jade received the highest score for Disillusions and Disguises, and Sirius scored the highest for Stealth and Tracking.  
  
By the time they had completed their training, Remus had finished his apprentice and was now working for the Ministry of Magic in the Werewolf's Support Services. It was good too, he had to pay quite a bit of money for the apprentice and training and now he could start paying it back. His mother had died when he was in fourth year and his father had no money to give him and was very old himself.  
  
James had moved up from the Reserve Quidditch team and now was the Official Puddlemere United Seeker. He also got the job at the Ministry but he didn't bother to take it.  
  
Lily was just starting out in the International Affairs Office and was consumed in work.  
  
Peter successfully passed his shop-keeping Training and opened up his own store that sold "knick-knacks All Wizards Need" the store was surprisingly successful.  
  
Things were very blissful for Jade and Sirius. She now lived with him, and rented out her home to muggles. So she was making money on the side of her actual job. Her actual job which was starting to take up a lot of her time.  
  
Death Eaters were bolder than ever. They were killing at random, killing for pleasure. Azkaban had to be extended because so many people were being caught.  
  
Sirius was right of course, just a year after they became Aurors Dumbldore invited Jade, Sirius, Remus, Ophelia, James, Lily, and Peter back to Hogwarts to discuss The Order Of The Phoenix. A secret society that works against Voldemort and his cause.  
  
Naturally, every one of them joined.  
  
43:  
  
"God it feels good to be back!" Jade said, stepping into the entrance hall of Hogwarts.  
  
"I told you we'd be back, didn't I?" Sirius said, wrapping his arm over her shoulder.  
  
"Yes." She smiled. "And it doesn't look like it's changed at all."  
  
"Well that's because we've only been gone for one year." James said.  
  
"Still..." Jade inhaled deeply and took in the smell of the school. The group walked into the Great Hall to see quite a few people there.  
  
"Welcome everyone." Dumbledore said, holding out his arms. "We are all gathered here today because we have a common goal, and although the Ministry is doing the best they can right now, it would be helpful to give them back up, even if they do not know they are receiving it."  
  
Sirius squeezed Jade's hand lightly.  
  
"Welcome, to the Order Of the Phoenix." 


	28. The First Meeting

Post 44:  
  
The doors of the Great Hall shut with a bang, and Jade felt a chill go down her spine as she heard Ophelia giggle quietly at something Remus said.  
  
If only she knew.  
  
"We will meet together, at least once a month, in the school until a proper place can be found. Never speak to any of the students if you see them, act as though you cannot, even if you knew them while you studied here. It may seem rude but this is what will be done. Now, we have people here from a variety of different areas in the field so that's one advantage we have.  
  
"Basically what we're going to do is share information we have on the actions and whereabouts of Voldemort and his supporters so we can try to stop attacks before they happen and help the Ministry by catching Death Eaters."  
  
There was a general murmur of consent around the group of almost thirty.  
  
"Come, let me show you where we will hold our meetings. Whenever there is to be one, I want you all to come straight here. Do not linger, our students are not stupid, and if the wrong student sees you, it may cost you your life."  
  
Peter Petigrew gave a slight gulp that Jade barely heard.  
  
Dumbledore led them out of the Great Hall and up the main staircase, down that main hall, up two more flights of stars and down more corridors, until they were in an ill-lit area of the school which Jade had never ventured through.  
  
"Where are we?" She whispered to Sirius.  
  
"I have no idea. I didn't realize this castle was so huge!"  
  
"What happened to the Mauraders' map?"  
  
"We were more concerned with finding ways to sneak out of the school. And in finding rooms like the Room of Requirement." Sirius whispered in Jade's ear.  
  
She blushed slightly and fought to conceal a smile.  
  
After about twenty minutes, they went up an iron spiral staircase that led to one door with no handle or knob. On the right-hand side of the frame there was a small engraving of a Phoenix. Dumbledore touched this and it glowed silver for a second, before the door opened to reveal a golden circular room with a glass dome roof in which sunlight was bursting through.  
  
"Nice." Said Ophelia out loud.  
  
"Welcome to the Order Of the Phoenix's temporary Headquarters." dumbledore beckoned them inside where Jade noticed that there was a white table in the middle of it with chairs all around it.  
  
"Very nice." Ophelia added. "I wonder why we never had classes here?"  
  
"Well, it wouldn't be a secret-council room if everyone knew about it, would it?" Dumbledore responded, smiling.  
  
Post 45:  
  
"We will have this room as our meeting place from now on. Really, we need to find a suitable area outside of Hogwarts, I do not want to endanger the Students of this school further." Dumbledore said. "So, everyone take a seat, and let us begin."  
  
Everyone sat down and looked expectantly at Dumbledore. Jade noticed, for the first time, that McGonagal was sitting beside him.  
  
"So, now, we will start by having Aurors talk about their plans and any tips they may have on Death Eater action. We also need to write up a list of people who could potentially be involved with the Death Eaters."  
  
He sat silent for a moment before a harsh voice broke the silence.  
  
"Alrigh' I'll start."  
  
Jade almost jumped when she looked at the man who had spoken. His somewhat messy brown hair was slightly grizzled and he had quite a few scars on his face. But what really shocked Jade was that one of his eyes was brown, the other was an electric blue that was swiveling constantly around his socket, even to the back of his head.  
  
Jade tore her gaze away from him as quickly as possible, she didn't want to seem rude.  
  
"Some one get a quill and parchment out an' write this down."  
  
McGonagal had already done this and nodded to him for him to start.  
  
"Alrigh'. Now there's about fifty Death Eaters, and more people are trying' to join. But the dark one will only take the best, see. So tha's why there are so few of 'em righ' now. But that don't mean he ain't still got o'hundred o' followers, they just ain't as privileged. Now, I know for sure that McNair, Malfoy, Karoroff, and the Thiballs couple are up there in the ranks. I also have reason to believe the LeStrange couple have some role in this as well as..."  
  
"Who?" Ophelia asked, a look of pure admiration on her face.  
  
"Barty Crouch Jr."  
  
"No!" cried Professor McGonagal. "Moody, you can't be serious?"  
  
"O' course I am. I know it doesn't seem likely but there's just somethin' I don't like about the kid. Shifty eyes. An' two weeks ago I showed up at the scene of a crime: muggle killed at random. An' I saw him down the road.  
  
'Wrong place, wrong time' was the excuse he gave me. Well, I said 'Just the same, I'd like to see your wand.' and, the littl' weasel handed me the wand after he said 'Lumous and bent down to 're-tie his shoe'! So I couldn' even check what spell he had done last! Maybe he's not a Death Eater but he's still doin' somethin' he shouldn' be." Growled Moody.  
  
"I see." said Dumbledore.  
  
"Can that eye see through the back of your head?" Ophelia asked suddenly.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Cool!"  
  
"Very useful this is, especially when your enemies are trying to sneak up behind you." 


	29. Getting Prepared

Post 46:  
  
"So what did you think of the meeting?" Jade asked Sirius when they were back home.  
  
"It was good. Wasn't expecting to see McGonagal there."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"WELL... what do you want to do now?" Sirius asked Jade in a suggestive tone. She smiled at him as she closed the distance between them and kissed him.  
  
"Try to read my mind."  
  
At this Sirius wrapped his arms around Brill and kissed her harder.  
  
"Wow!" Jade said. "You're psychic!"  
  
"It's a gift." He said, and carried her upstairs.  
  
Two months later Peter Petigrew came late to Sirius' house for dinner. He had a black eye, his shirt was torn and his arm was bleeding.  
  
"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Lily asked, pulling out her wand.  
  
"I'm ok. A Death Eater attacked me. I got him in the end though." He held out his arm to Lily.  
  
"I've just never been very good at healing. Would you mind?"  
  
"Oh, not at all." Lily healed his arm and then his eye and shirt. After he told of his encounter with the Death Eater the group went back to their food.  
  
"James and I have an announcement to make." Lily said, standing up  
  
"We've set a date." James said. Lily smacked him playfully on the head and the group laughed. When James had been making their engagement announcement Lily had went ahead and said it herself. Now, James had done the same thing to her.  
  
"It's June Second!" Lily said quickly, determined to not let James cut her off. Post 47:  
  
June second came and went. Lily and James' wedding was beautiful, in an old church, with Celtic music playing as Lily walked down the isle. It was a small wedding, only eighty people were there, including Lily's sister Petunia, who looked very uncomfortable and didn't say long for the reception.  
  
Jade and Ophelia were both in the wedding, and were both maids of honor as Lily couldn't chose between the two of them.  
  
"Attention! Attention!" Remus called, flicking his wine glass with his wand. "I don't mean to take away from the bride and groom, but I'd like to say something!"  
  
The room went silent and Remus, who was standing beside Ophelia, turned towards her.  
  
"In my life, the times I was happiest were with you. In all the years we have known each other, I felt always at home and at comfort. I love you, and you make me complete."  
  
Remus kneeled and pulled out a ring.  
  
"Ophelia Light, will you marry me?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"Come on, Jade, we have to get dressed for the raid." Sirius whispered.  
  
"Why are you whispering?" Jade asked in her regular voice. "No one can hear us in our own home. Don't worry, I'll be ready by nine."  
  
The Order of the Phoenix was planning their biggest raid yet; on an old Victorian mansion that was suppose to be holding a Death Eater rally. 


	30. Unprepared, Unexpected

Unprepared, Unexpected  
  
Jade looked at herself in the mirror. She had her red hair pulled back and she was wearing a black bandanna on her head. The rest of her was in black too.  
  
"Are you ready?" Sirius called from the hall.  
  
"Yes." Jade said. Yes.  
  
They apperated at the rendezvous point a quarter of a mile from the old mansion they were suppost to be raiding.  
  
"Ok." Moody growled. "I want you five to cover the north end, you five, the south. Lupin you'll cover the West window, and Black, the East. I want you three to be on brooms. I'm going to stay here with McGonagal to catch Death Eaters who manage to escape." Everyone nodded. "Let's go."  
  
Jade kissed Sirius quickly and made her way to the south end of the Mansion, barely noticing who was with her.  
  
Peter Petigrew fell a step behind everyone, keeping his eyes on Jade.  
  
"Ok," Jade whispered. "Let's wait for the signal."  
  
A small tiny white light went through the air that looked like it could be a shooting star, but they knew better.  
  
"There it is! Let's go!"  
  
Jade crawled through the bushes as quietly as possible, and then, when she heard a disturbance from inside, broke into a run and stopped just short of the door.  
  
It had opened, and she spotted a fat Death Eater making his way to it. She stunned him and quickly closed her eyes and changed, in the dark, into a green-eyed, blonde with curly hair. Her tattoos disappeared and she made herself look slightly heavier (which is still fairly thin) and her face became wider, her lips slightly smaller, and her skin paler.  
  
Now, if anyone saw her, they would not know who she is.  
  
She ran inside and came was grabbed from the side out of the way of the door. Jade turned around and came face to face with Lucius Malfoy. He stopped her hand with her wand in it before it came to his face.  
  
Jade gasped and her eyes widened.  
  
Malfoy looked confused, he had, of course, never seen this curly-blonde haired girl in his life.  
  
"What's wrong with you?"  
  
Jade pushed herself away from Lucius Malfoy, her eyes wide with shock. She had completely forgot that he was a Death Eater and hadn't expected to see him.  
  
Just as he raised his wand a loud cracking sound came from behind the door leading to another room.  
  
Both Jade and Malfoy looked at the door and saw someone stumble out, coughing slightly. They stumbled into the light and looked right up at Jade.  
  
"Oh my word!"  
  
Ophelia was clutching her stomach and blood was coming out of her mouth.  
  
A knife came zooming at her and hit her in the back. A look of sheer pain was on her face as she coughed more.  
  
"No counter-curse. Killed a LeStrange, Bellatrix- got me!" Another knife came zooming out of nowhere and hit her again.  
  
Jade kicked Malfoy quickly in the nose and he stumbled to the wall, his hands over his now bloody nose.  
  
Jade ran over to Ophelia and put her arm around her.  
  
"They'll keep coming." Jade could see now that Ophelia had many stab wounds in her stomach.  
  
She pulled the two knives out of her friend's back and healed the wounds.  
  
"Don't bother! It hurts more if you try to heal it." Ophelia coughed.  
  
Jade pulled her towards to door and stepped in front of her just as a fresh batch of knives came flying.  
  
Three knives hit Jade in the stomach and one in the shoulder.  
  
Malfoy fixed his nose and pulled out his wand pointing it at Jade, who was very near the door.  
  
Quickly, Jade let go of Ophelia and pulled two of the knives out of her stomach and threw them at Malfoy.  
  
They both hit him in the chest and Jade ran with Ophelia out of the house and into the forest. Then she conjured a stretcher and put her on it. Running, with the stretcher floating in front of her, Brill made it back to the rendezvous point with Ophelia. It was no use; knives followed her through the trees and struck Ophelia in the stomach.  
  
"Get-" Ophelia started coughing harder and blood got onto Jade's cheek. "Remus!"  
  
"I'm here!" Remus called, he came running to where Jade was with Ophelia. "What's going-" He stopped and looked down at Ophelia. "Oh no." His voice was quiet. He bent down and took up her hand, kissing it.  
  
She managed a smile, but it was painful and tears came from the corner of her eyes.  
  
"Remus, I love-" Another knife came zooming and it stabbed her in the heart. She let out a deep breath and quietly said: "you."  
  
"Ophelia! Ophelia!" Remus started crying. "I love you, please, no!" He looked down at Ophelia. Her hands had already grown cold and her eyes were still open. Remus closed her eyes and kissed her forehead.  
  
Jade collapsed to the floor and cried. Remus looked over at her and noticed blood stained on her arm sleeve and all over the front of her shirt.  
  
"Jade. You're hurt." Sirius said. He had just come over. Jade took off her shirt so she was only in her bra. Blood was all over her stomach, but there were no wounds anywhere.  
  
Jade was shocked to find her arm and stomach fine, she didn't even remember pulling out the other two knives.  
  
"I'm, fine." 


	31. Bealo And Fae

Post 61: Bealo...  
  
Jade's cloak whipped out from behind her in the wind, her hair was blowing everywhere. She stood quietly beside Sirius and she felt his warm hand slide into hers.  
  
Remus, who was standing beside Jade, had tears silently rolling down his cheeks and his shoulders shuddered every so often.  
  
As Ophelia's body neared her tomb corridor, Jade closed her eyes, tried not to weep and sang loudly:  
  
Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended  
  
giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende  
  
on Meduselde þæt she ma no wære  
  
Bealo...  
  
The door to her tomb closed, and everyone went up to it and threw violets at the doorstep.  
  
It was a wizard's custom to, when dead, be buried above ground, in a small room that may be visited once a year by family and friends. There is no speaking at a Wizard's funeral when they died in a battle.  
  
Jade's song, translated to English, says:  
  
That she is nowhere anymore, for her necessary rest.  
  
And she is the dearest kinsman.  
  
Killing took her...  
  
One by one people left the graveyard of witches and wizards, until only Remus, Jade, Sirius, Lily, James, and Peter were left.  
  
"Come." Lily said, taking Remus through the arm.  
  
"No." His voice was barely a whisper. "I can't"  
  
Jade put her arm on his shoulder. "She would have wanted you to celebrate her life, and remember her always. Her spirit will travel to land of her ancestors. Come."  
  
Arm in arm, the seven friends turned away from Ophelia's grave and walked down the small path leading to the thin black gates of the yard.  
  
Post 62: Fae  
  
"We have a member in the Order." Dumbledore said two days after Ophelia's funeral.  
  
He motioned to a woman standing in the corner of the room they were all in, her face was hiden in the shadows. She stepped forward and Jade immediately realized why. The woman was tall and slendor, her hair was long, dark reddish-brown and curly. The thing that shocked everyone though, was her eyes. They were honey brown, but her pupils were slits like a cats, and when she opened her mouth, Jade noticed she had fangs.  
  
"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?" Dumbledore said cheerfully.  
  
She looked at him like he was insane, but he nodded to her, so she did.  
  
"My name is Fae Narchannen, in your language it means Spirit Broken. I was born in 1862, making me 141 years old. I'll be 142 in December. I prefer to sleep in the day than at night, I hate garlic, though don't believe those miths that garlic will kill me, I just hate the smell. Oh, my favourite sweet is the Blood-flavoured licorice from Honey-Dukes."  
  
"Very nice." Dumbledore said. "Fae will be joining us in the rebel against Voldemort."  
  
"How?" Jade asked.  
  
"You tell me." Fae said, her eyes narrowing. "What ever needs to be done, I'll do. I can't die unless you shoot me with a silver bullet, and wizards donot own rifels, so no real harm can come to me."  
  
"I know that!" Jade answered. "I mean, Voldemort has control over all dark creatures Grindewald created. How can you fight againt someone who has control over you?"  
  
"He has not yet called me to him. Until he does, I must weaken him." Fae looked down at the ground. "Try to understand, once Voldemort is gone, we are able to die, so we're fighting against him as much as possible. Living forever may be great, but not when you can't sleep peacefully, or taste food. I'm always thirsty, hungry, and never happy. All I know is hate."  
  
She smiled then. "Grindewald's greatest flaw. He made all of his creatures know only hate, but because of this, we hate him. He's gone now, thank you for that, Albus, but Voldemort somehow binded himself to Grindewald, and now he has our control, and I will be a slave once more."  
  
Everyone was quiet.  
  
"I'll kill myself before I do those deeds again. I already have the bullets bought." 


	32. Reliving A Hell ! NOW WITH MISSING POST!

Sorry, I stupidly forgot a MAJOR part of this story out… so here it is… the LOST chapter… (post 64)

Post 63:

"So, what'd you think of Fae?" Sirius asked Jade when they were back lying in bed.

"She seems sincere. I just..."

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I feel as if they knew we were coming."

"I know." Sirius said, shifting.

"We're being betrayed by someone."

"I'm sure it's someone in the order though." Sirius said out loud.

"Come on! Who else could it have been? Unless someone's using a Polyjuice potion?"

"No, no... Moody can see through 'em." Sirius responded, sighing. "What's on the agenda for tomorrow?"

"Nothing with the Order, Dumbledore's going to interview someone for the new Divination Professor for Hogwarts next year. Apparently, the current one is really old and has predicted her own death."

"That's not depressing." Sirius said in a sarcastic voice.

"I know."

Jade and Sirius woke up the next morning and received Owls as to what they were to do for work that day. Being an auror meant having your work come to you; for most of the time. Jade skimmed hers and then read Sirius'.

"Ha, ha, sucker. They want you to go into the office to help out with another case!" Jade laughed at Sirius. Both agreed that they hated actually going to work in the office and preferred 'ground work' much better." 

"Shush."

Jade kissed Sirius and then said: "You should be going now or you'll be late."

"Yea... what do you have?"

"Investigation."

"Be careful."

"I will.

An 'Investigation' was when an auror had to show up at someone's house and inspect the premises to see if there were any dark objects lying about. People they investigated were also under the suspicion of being a Death Eater.

Jade read the bottom of the Owl where it told her where who she was investigating and where they lived.

Jade read the name.

She dropped the parchment.

Then she dropped to her knees.

Post 64:

Jade glanced at the Owl again.

_Lucius Malfoy_ was the name it read.

Jade ran to the loo and threw up. Twice.  
"There's nothing for it." She said out loud.  
Jade went up stairs and got dressed in her uniform. She was starting to sweat at the very thought of facing him. She changed into a conservative tank top, Capri pants, and a light, sleeveless cloak. The cloak was a periwinkle blue and had two long slits in its side for her arms to go through, so she could manoeuvre easily.

Jade stood in front of the mirror and thought. She made her eyelashes slightly shorter, her eyes an apple green, put some freckles on her nose, she changed her hair from its wavy red into a very light brown that was shorter and she pulled it back. Jade also made her ears stick out just a little bit gave herself a smaller stature. When she was done she looked at herself again in the mirror and made her last change: she made her cheeks slightly puffy.  
With a _crack_! Jade had apperated in front of the long drive of the Malfoy Manor.  
She inhaled deeply and walked up it, and then she rang the chimes. 

"Hello! Misses! This is The Manor of Mr. Malfoy! What can be done for you!" A squeaky little voice said. Jade looked down to see a very young House Elf at the door. He had bright green eyes and a large nose.   
"I'd like to speak to Mr. Malfoy. May I come in?"  
"Of course! Dobby is at your services, Misses. I'll go get Mr. Malfoy, you can be sitting here!" The squeaky elf motioned into the next room where there was a couch.  
"Thank you Dobby.''  
"You are most welcome!" The house elf said, bowing repeatedly.  
"Get, up, you idiot!" A cruel voice said, kicking the elf. Jade closed her mouth; If it was open, she would have thrown up.  
"Good help is _so_ hard to find. That house elf is very young and keeps trying to make his dead mother proud. It's pathetic, really." Lucius said, approaching Jade.  
He was going to ask: _"What the hell are you doing here?"_ when he looked at her and closed his mouth.  
"So... may I take your cloak?'' he smiled.  
Jade did not really want to take it off but it would be exceedingly rude not to and many wizards considered it a direct insult, so she unclasped it and he took it off her, his hand lightly touching her tattoo that she had completely forgotten about when she was metamorphing.  
In plain, black ink, her tattoo said:  
**I'm going to watch him suffer****  
****I'm going to watch him scream in pain****  
****I'm going to take away everything he has****  
****I'm going to smile as he dies and then ****  
****I'm going to laugh when I see his grave**  
"My, aren't we violent?" Lucius smiled.  
'You don't even know." Jade replied. "Lucius Malfoy, I am a representative from the Ministry of Magic's Auror department. I am here today to investigate the premises because you are currently under suspicion of being in the Dark One's League."  
''I see.'' Lucius' voice was angry.  
"It is up to you to allow me to perform this search. Anything broken will be compensated for fully. But don't worry, I've never broken anything in an investigation before and I hope there will be no need for it today. If you decline, you will be escorted to the Auror's holding cells while we review your case and then your home will be searched under force. Declining may lead to a large monetary fine as well as a lengthy Azkaban term. However, if something small here is found, you may only get off with a small fine and/or community service time.  
''Do you understand the what I have just told you, Mr. Malfoy?"   
"Yes."   
"Will you decline the search of the premises?"  
''No."  
"Good choice.'' Jade started by taking a notebook of parchment out and a never-out-of-ink-Quill.  
She started looking around the room and was very aware that he was following her.  
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Malfoy was looking at her tattoo.  
"May I help you, Mr. Malfoy?" Jade said in a slightly agitated voice, though she was very scared on the inside.  
''I was just wondering."  
'I'm sure you were.''  
"...What that tattoo of yours means?"  
Jade peered inside a jar on the mantel over the fireplace: it was empty.  
"Well, Sir, it's quite simple. I plan on completely destroying a particular person's-"  
"A man's."  
"Yes. A particular man's life. I then plan to watch his suffer while laughing, and then I'm going to kill him."  
"I'm not quite sure I want someone like you being an auror." He said, coolly.  
"And I am quite sure that no body cares." She answered back, moving towards the bookshelf.  
Jade conjured a latter and placed it at the books. She climbed up it and pulled the very top book off the shelf and opened it, and ruffled its pages. She did the same thing with the next book, and the next, and the next after that. Three hours later she finished every single book on the shelf.  
"Right. Next room."

Post 65:

Jade searched the Manor thoroughly, with Lucius smiling behind her as she went from room to room, and it was a very large house. At 6:30 in the evening Lucius left and made some tea.  
"Would you like a cup?" He said, offering out a cup and saucer.  
"Thank you." Jade took the tea and decided to sit down. There was only one room left in the house; his bedroom. And Jade was avoiding that at all costs.  
She put the cup to her mouth and glanced at Lucius, he was smiling to himself. Jade put down the tea with out drinking it.  
"May I borrow an Owl?" Jade asked, getting the Quill and parchment out of her bag again, starting to scribble furiously.  
"Dobby!" Lucius called.  
"Yes, master!" Dobby squeaked as he scurried into the room.  
"Get the woman an Owl."  
"Yes, Sir!" Dobby ran away and ran back carrying an owl very quickly.   
Jade smiled and tied the parchment to its leg, then sent it out the window.  
"Sorry about that." Jade smiled. "I just had to write home telling my friend were I was and to be expecting me home very shortly." Jade said. "And I also told him to come with an auror squad to your house if I'm not home in ten minutes." Jade added.  
Lucius just smirked at her.  
"Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to have to search your sleeping Quarters. DOBBY!" She called.  
Dobby came running back.  
"Your going to come with us now, ok?"  
"Of course, misses!"  
So Jade searched Lucius' room with Dobby standing in the corner, pleasantly confused, and Lucius leaning on the windowsill, watching her with his arms crossed.  
It was slightly pathetic, but Jade felt a bit safer knowing the elf was in the room... even if he was helpless.  
At the end of the day, Jade wanted to cry; she had not found one thing to prosecute Mr. Malfoy for.  
"Well... thank you for cooperating with the Ministry of Magic. I've completed my investigation. Do you have any questions at this time?"  
"No."  
Dobby had fetched her cloak and Jade put it on. She left the house very quickly and apperated home. Sirius was waiting for her.


	33. Shame, Pride, And So Much Doubt

Post 66:  
  
When Sirius asked Jade how her day was, all she said was: "boring, I didn't find anything," and left the room. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't tell Sirius that the house she had raided belonged to her worst enemy.   
  
Jade's eyes opened in shock when she saw that there were candles lit around the room and Rose petals on the bed. Sirius snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck.   
  
"Sirius, I... I forgot something really important at the Ministry!" Jade said quickly, stepping away from him.   
  
"I'm sorry, it's important." Jade said, putting her cloak back on. Sirius frowned.   
  
"We can continue this tomorrow."  
  
"What? How long are you going to be?"  
  
"I- I have to file a report or Smith will have my head."   
  
Jade left quickly with out even kissing Sirius on the cheek.   
  
Once Jade got to her office she straightened up her desk, rearranged some photos, and just sat listening to the Late show on the Wizarding Wireless network.   
  
Jade was overwhelmed with guilt for lying to Sirius twice, and for leaving him home by him self to blow out candles in disappointment.   
  
There was just no way Jade would be able to sleep that night, let alone make love to someone with out having flash backs of Lucius...  
  
"Stop! Stop!"  
  
Jade heard her own voice yelling in her head as she started crying into her knees.   
  
The next morning Jade took an anti-drowsying Potion as she had not slept at all the night before. She quickly apperated home, changed, and crept downstairs to start making breakfast.   
  
When she got there, Sirius was already there, waiting for her.  
  
"Have a nice sleep?"  
  
Post 67:  
  
"You didn't come home last night, I waited up for you. So... where were you?" Sirius asked Jade.  
  
"What do you mean? I was at the office." Jade responded, sitting across from him.  
  
He looked very depressed as he ran his hand through his hair.  
  
"Jade... tell me the truth. Please."  
  
"Sirius, I am telling you the truth."  
  
"I Owled Smith this morning. He told me that you have not filed any report to him."  
  
Jade swallowed hard. It was stupid of her, and she knew it, but she couldn't tell Sirius about why she couldn't come home to him.   
  
"Who is it?"  
  
"What?" asked Jade, almost laughing. "Are you joking, or what?"   
  
Sirius stared in her eyes, his looked so dull. Jade realized quickly just how serious he was.   
  
"Sirius, think of what you're asking me. You're implying that I'm cheating on you. For God sakes! How can you even dream this... don't you know me?"  
  
"I thought I did, once."   
  
Jade was on the verge of tears, she couldn't believe Sirius could suspect her of something like this. She was totally and completely in love with him, she never wanted to hurt him.   
  
"It's just... you've been so distant from me lately... and last night you didn't come home. Don't tell me you stayed at the office all night! Where did you sleep?"  
  
"Sirius!" Jade stood up. "I didn't sleep at all! I just- I needed to be by myself last night."  
  
"No one saw you come in, or leave."  
  
"That's because I came in after hours, and left before anyone else got there! The Guard was reading The Quibbler, why don't you believe me?"  
  
"I don't know, I just don't."  
  
Jade turned away from him and walked away, not looking back. She went upstairs and opened the doors to the walk-in closet; he followed her at a distant, puzzled slightly. Sirius was watching her from the doorway of their room. She pushed aside some of her shoes and lifted up a floorboard in the back of the closet room.  
  
"What the"?" Sirius whispered to himself.   
  
Jade reached into the whole and pulled out a leather-bound book and put the floorboard back.   
  
She walked past him and downstairs, grabbing her cloak, which was on the back of a chair. Jade left the house with the book.  
  
Sirius ran outside wand watched her walk down the street with her book and cloak in hand.  
  
"Jade! Jade!" Sirius called. She didn't look back. 


	34. Ten Years Of Sorrow

Post 68:  
  
Jade did not come back, she couldn't come back. How could she be with someone who didn't trust her? In her heart Jade knew she was walking away from something beautiful and majestic... but she also believed that if she was meant to be with Sirius then everything would somehow work out. Jade never came to see Sirius after that day. She never came by to collect her things, and she never said goodbye.  
  
Jade moved back to her house in France, and did all of her Auror work from home or on the field.  
  
She stayed in touch with Lily and James and Remus, cutting Peter off completely... she had never really liked him, and now she didn't have to speak to him. She rarely spoke to any of them, except Remus.  
  
After Ophelia died, Remus couldn't bring himself to go to work... he had tried, but he just fell to pieces... he seemed to have aged and he no longer was energetic- his inspiration had left him, and he couldn't figure out what to do with himself. Slowly, he started working himself to financial trouble... everyone helped him out here and there, and he was fine- for a while...  
  
They spent their time mostly in silence, grieving for Ophelia or speaking of the Order- Jade was still a member, but she never went to another meeting. She met with Dumbledore secretly for updates... unable to bring herself to look into Sirius' dark eyes...  
  
And then it happened. One Halloween, when Lily's only child, a boy named Harry, was just one, Lily and James Potter were murdered, leaving Harry alone and helpless... the very next day Sirius murdered Peter in the street and was taken to Azkaban prison.  
  
Jade bought a length of rope and made a noose with it- tying it to a ceiling panel. She got a chair and stood on it. The clock on the mantel caught light from the sun and when Jade turned to look at it, she caught her reflection in the mirror behind it. Her tattoo stuck out like a sore thumb and Jade sub-consciously rubbed it, thinking.  
  
"No." She didn't even realize she said it out loud. Jade stepped down and untied the rope. She wasn't going to kill herself. She had made a promise.  
  
Jade would not rest until Lucius Malfoy was completely and utterly ruined. She had been to hell and back before, she could do it again.  
  
Post 69:  
  
Jade spent the next ten years of her life in a quiet sorrow. She took a few training courses with the ministry so she could get promoted... she rented out a few rooms in her house to traveling wizards... and rarely, very rarely, she visited Remus... but as the years went on her visits subsided... she had abandoned him, and it was hard for her to face him now.  
  
One day, things changed...  
  
Jade was sitting at her breakfast table, sipping coffee as she unfolded her daily Prophet and looked at the front page.  
  
She was met by a picture of the scowling face of Sirius Black. The heading was: "Insane Murderer breaks out of Azkaban Prison!"  
  
Jade gasped. Sirius had escaped- she still didn't know what to think of him... no matter what people said, she could never fully believe that he was Voldemort's right-hand man... Sirius had been so loving, so caring- no one could love like him and be in the league of the Dark Lord...  
  
Suddenly, Jade realized how much of a fool she was... how stupid she was for letting pride and shame consume her all those years ago... 


	35. Old Friends

Post 70:  
  
Knock, knock, knock.  
  
"Remus," Jade called, "are you home?"  
  
The door of an old house opened and Remus answered it. He was unshaven, and looked like he hadn't slept in a week.  
  
The second Jade saw him she pulled him into a hug, he was her only friend now.  
  
"I'm sorry." she whispered. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm... fine." he answered, letting her into his dark home. "I just got a letter from Dumbledore- he wants me to be the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."  
  
"Really? Are you going to take it?"  
  
"No, I can't."  
  
"Why not?" Jade whipped her wand around his kitchen and made some tea appear from no where. She handed a cup to Remus as he sighed and replied: "You know why. I'd be a danger to everyone."  
  
Jade picked up the open letter and scanned through it.  
  
"But you can drink this potion every month. Dumbledore said the potions master will make it."  
  
"Snivellus is the potions master."  
  
Jade's mouth twitched into a smile. "I see."  
  
Jade reread the letter and looked up at her friend.  
  
"If he poisons you, I'll kill him, how about that? You should go. I'd die to go back to Hogwarts again. Who knows, you may be able to pull a few pranks and blame it on the students. Slytherins, of course."  
  
Both started laughing as they recalled some of their favourite pranks they pulled in their school days.  
  
"Harry's going to be there. Third year." Remus muttered.  
  
"Go."  
  
"I- alright. Alright, I'll go."  
  
The general mood of the place was much happier. Both were excited about Remus' trip to Hogwarts, him meeting Harry for the first real time. Jade even helped him write a letter back to Dumbledore.  
  
"You're so lucky, I'm so jealous." Jade said as she walked to the door.  
  
"Yeah." Remus sighed.  
  
"I'll look after the house when you're gone... it could use a little bit of tidying up."  
  
Remus frowned slightly but nodded in agreement.  
  
When Jade apperated home she realized that that was the first time since Ophelia's death that he hadn't talked about her. And that it was the first time since Lily and James died that they hadn't talked about Sirius. It was nice. 


	36. Letters

Post 71:  
  
Jade apperated home. She had just been at Platform nine and three quarters to farewell Remus off. It was only ten thirty.  
  
Jade was very grateful that she went in disguise with him- Lucius Malfoy was there, and she wasn't expecting to see him, with his son, especially so early before the train was due to leave.  
  
She walked into her office; in the corner was a large pile of parchment and photos- evidence that she had gathered over the years against him. But they were all small crimes. Lucius could buy his way out of anything- except when he finally gets charged for something large, than Jade will have a mountain to back her up.  
  
Jade sighed as she went downstairs to read the Prophet. She had an eerie feeling... like someone was watching her. She stood up and turned around, looking outside of her kitchen sliding door... a black figure was running away. She recognized the swish of the tail... the way the ears bent back... Sirius had been watching her.  
  
Dear Remus,  
  
Has Sirius tried to contact you at all? I have a feeling he's going to make an appearance at Hogwarts this year, though for good or bad I cannot yet say. There are rumors fluttering about- people think he's after Harry, and given what else their saying I'm being to think for the first time that he might be. Keep an eye on him, for Lily and James. Everything is so confusing right now... I hope lessons are going well and old- Snivelly isn't giving you a rough time. You better play some pranks on some Slytherin students fast- this new, respectable side of you is scaring me! Stay well,  
  
Jade  
  
Post 72:  
  
Jade,  
  
Sirius has not tried to contact me, but I know what you mean. The Professors here think he's bound to come, and as I'm sure you already know, Dementors are patrolling the outer grounds of the castle. Actually, they disobeyed Dumbledore's orders and came to a Quidditch match two days ago... Harry fell off his broom at their arrival- he seems to react more fiercely towards them, and who came blame him?  
  
Snape is certain of me being in contact with Sirius, and he's constantly telling Dumbledore I'm untrustworthy, but Dumbledore's officially ignoring him completely now.  
  
It's nice, being back. I feel almost at home, but not quiet. It's so odd to be here with out Sirius, James, Lily, Ophelia, and you. And Peter... it's as though I'm home but someone's taken all the furniture away- so you can see it's bare walls and there's nowhere comfortable to sit...  
  
Don't worry, I gave a Slytherin class detention today for no real reason, and I subtracted ten points from their house for a student being loud in the halls after I over-heard Snape deducting five off of Gryffindor for a girl wearing an unsightly hairpin.  
  
Harry's brilliant in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I guess he'd have to be... he's a really great kid, Lily and James would be proud.  
  
How's my garden coming along? –Remus 


	37. Once Overlooked, Now Uncovered

Post 73:  
  
Jade paced around her kitchen. She had dug up Sirius Black's old trial files... as it turned out, there was no trial. She had been up all night reading and re-reading the accounts of the muggle witnesses... Of what they gave Mrs. Petigrew in a matchbox.  
  
There was something missing in this investigation, but she couldn't figure out what.  
  
Official Notes:  
  
Black was found a scene of the crime laughing.  
  
Petigrew's body completely missing- robes left on ground in tact... blood on sleeve... finger found on ground near by...  
  
A few drops of Petigrew's blood near drain.  
  
Black made no attempt to run away from officials.  
  
Seemed depressed but confident of him being released soon.  
  
Now that didn't make sense. Why would Sirius, an Auror, be confident of being released if he knew that the penalty for murder was life in Azkaban?  
  
A few drops of Petigrew's blood found near drain...  
  
Jade glanced back of a map showing were Petigrew's clothes were, where Sirius was standing... where the muggles were... the drain was a good three feet away. There was no blood scattered anywhere else.  
  
Jade gasped out loud and smacked her head.  
  
"The git!" Jade stood up and ran to her desk drawer. She pulled out three pieces of parchment and set on the desk beside one another.  
  
Then she pulled out three acid green Quills.  
  
On the first parchment she wrote: Dear Remus, the second one she addressed to Dumbledore, and the third to The Minister Of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.  
  
She set the acid Quills up at each parchment and began to speak, each Quill scratching furiously exactly what she said.  
  
"It has come to my attention, that Sirius Black, a man who was imprisoned in Azkaban for over eleven years, may very well be innocent. I was reviewing his case, in my spare time, to find that he had no trial. While trials are long and often a waste of time, there is a law saying that anyone who is to serve time in Azkaban for more than one year must be given a trial. I am shocked and disgusted that this law was not followed!  
  
"I have enclosed a copy of Official Notes and Maps of this case in the letter as well, with certain points highlighted for significance. Peter Petigrew was an illegal animagi, so it is very possible that he faked his own death and crawled away through the drain that is three feet away from where his robes were... the same drain where small drops of blood were found by. His Animiguis form is a rat. I have seen him transform only once, many years ago... we went to school together and I was one of his friends.  
  
"Please take a closer look at things! And when Sirius Black is caught, do not give him the Dementor's kiss, give his Vertessium, and lots of it. Only then can we be sure of the truth."  
  
Jade signed each letters herself and OWLed them immediately, a copy of Sirius' file in each one. 


	38. Green Tea

Post 74:  
  
Two days after Jade sent the letters about Sirius, she woke up to find three men standing in her room, looking over at her.  
  
"ARGGGHHHHH!!!!" She yelled and leaped to her feet, snatching her wand from underneath her pillow. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?"  
  
One of them stepped forward; Jade recognized the Ministry crest on his robes and relaxed slightly. He looked younger than the other two, his hair was blonde and it flipped out at his neck, it was cute.  
  
"Miss Loreen,"  
  
"Lorien." She corrected him.  
  
"We are here because we have reason to believe that Black may try to come in contact with you. Your letter was not received well yesterday also. How did you gain access to Black's files? Those are top- security. Only persons of the auror or unspeakable level may access them."  
  
"I am an auror. Here-" she pulled out her badge from the desk drawer and handed it to the man to observe. He handed it back.  
  
"I'm Jefferson, new. Office work mostly." He shook her hand.  
  
"They always give office work to the new comers, you'll get to do some field work next year." The other men seemed to un-stiffen. Jade threw on a dressing robe and asked them if they wanted some tea. Jefferson accepted but the other two, since she wasn't going to put up any sort of fight, had to get back to the office.  
  
"So, why do you think Si- Mr. Black would want to reach me?" Jade said as she poured two cups of green-tea.  
  
Jefferson raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Apparently you were seeing him for quite some time. You were going to get married, were you not?"  
  
"What? No... no we weren't going to be married. And the relationship ended sometime before the Potter incident." Jade bit her lip. The Potter incident? What was she thinking? These were her friends! How could she speak so detachedly of them... Jade sat down by Jefferson and handed him his mug.  
  
"If you don't want to-"  
  
"No no, I should help you do your job."  
  
"Lorien, Black's a madman. I know you want to believe he's innocent, but the facts are against them. Petigrew was not the smartest person alive, brave, but not smart. Very few people can master Animagi and his old Hogwarts records show he was- not good- in Transfiguration.  
  
"What's more, Black has been spotted in this area. If he tries to contact you you could be in danger. Statements show that Azkaban had no real affect on him. He was doing crossword puzzles in his cell a week before he broke out!"  
  
Jade smiled at this, he had always loved crosswords.  
  
Jefferson took a gulp of his tea and made a face.  
  
"What? Don't you like it?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but this is not tea!"  
  
"Yes, it's green- tea, it's just has an acquired taste."  
  
"No no... I like green-tea... did you boil the water?"  
  
"Listen buster, I know how to make tea. It's like making coffee, just with tea."  
  
They started laughing and Jade suddenly felt very conscience of the fact her hair wasn't really brushed.  
  
"Listen, the Ministry wants you to sign some papers stating that you have not been in contact with Black since he went to Azkaban. Why don't you come by my office around noon to sign them?"  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
"Alright, I should go."  
  
"My tea's that horrible, eh?"  
  
Jefferson paused for a minute.  
  
"Yeah, yeah it is."  
  
She smacked him playfully on the arm, pretending to be offended.  
  
Jade walked him to the door.  
  
"Now, if you don't come I'll have to go looking for you. So don't run off anywhere!" He smiled as she opened the door. He had a nice smile... kind of like Sirius'. 


	39. Lunch In France

Post 75:  
  
After Jade got dressed and brushed her hair she apperated into the Ministry of Magic office. She swept down the long corridor until she reached the lift.  
  
It stopped and opened many times, paper airplanes zooming through the air.  
  
Jade mazed through the many desks in the Auror Head Quarters.  
  
She saw Jefferson look up and smile at her from across the room. He motioned her over with his hand.  
  
"Hello." Jade smiled. His desk was littered with files and loose parchment; notes covered drawers and candleholder.  
  
"Just give me a second." Jefferson said as he circled something on his calendar and sifted through a file. He pulled out two forms and snatched a quill off his desk.  
  
"Alright. I need you to sign the statement twice. We need to have two copies of about everything here."  
  
"I know." Jade took his seat and read over the form.  
  
I, __________, have not seen or heard from Sirius Black, the escaped convict. I will cooperate with the ministry in any way possible, and I am prepared to share information with authorized authorities.  
  
Signed, ___________, date: __________.  
  
Jade dipped the quill and paused before signing her name. She had seen Sirius. He was watching her from her backyard.  
  
Jade signed the statement quickly and handed it to Jefferson.  
  
He put it back into his file and smiled.  
  
"Hey, I was just about to go to lunch. Want to join me?" He asked. Jade herself was fairly hungry so she agreed.  
  
She felt his hand on her back as he ushered her through the maze of desks and chairs, occasionally ducking for flying airplane notes.  
  
"So where are we going?" Jade asked once they reached the apperation section of the ministry.  
  
"France. Apperate to the Eiffel tower, we can walk from there."  
  
Jade raised an eyebrow before apperating.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hey."  
  
Jefferson led Jade to an old café with iron chair on the patio.  
  
Post 76:  
  
The food was indescribably delicious, the company disgustingly enjoyable. Jefferson, or Patrick as he asked to be called, spoke perfect French, a language Jade never managed to master. He was funny, and Jade found herself playing with the idea of flirting with him. She caught herself before she flipped her curly red hair and abruptly turned the conversation from Quidditch to business.  
  
"So, have you read it? The letter I sent to Fudge?" She asked, sipping her cappuccino.  
  
"Ah, yes, yes I- read it... it was... well composed." He shifted in his seat slightly.  
  
"What's that suppost to mean? What did you think of it? Are they going to do anything?"  
  
"Well... to be honest with you, I think you have some good points about it all. The fact that Black didn't get a trial did disturb me, and who ever did that report left some large holes in it. I think the Ministry didn't go through the formalities as usual because they were determined to find some one anyone, who they could pin the Potter deaths on. The Potters were famous. James, an aspiring British Seeker, Lily, a faithful Ministry correspondent, who sorted out that big problem with Prague... the public needed to see some one locked up."  
  
Jade smiled. Finally, some one was listening!  
  
"However... I'm sorry but, the few select officials who read this believe that, you are living in denial."  
  
"Denial! Denial of what?!" Jade demanded.  
  
"That you were ever in love with the man murdered two of your best friends. It's thought that, you created this story in your mind and told it to yourself until you believed it to give Black the character of the victim."  
  
Jade sat in silence, soaking it all in.  
  
"But," she whispered. "But Peter was friend too. How could I do that to him? How could I 'insult his memory' like that by making him seem like the bad guy? We weren't as close, that's true, but how could I - how could anyone, do that to some one they cared about?"  
  
"Because, the reality of Black murdering the Potters is much more harsh."  
  
"Voldemort murdered the Potters." Jade's tone was icy, and that was how she felt. It was a mistake, this lunch. She should not have come.  
  
"Listen. That's what they believe, not me. But I do think he's guilty. However, I'm trying to get the Dementor's kiss lifted. The Vertessium is a very good idea and I'm attempting to get Fudge to go for it."  
  
Jade smiled at Patrick.  
  
"Thank you." 


	40. Dinner At Six

Post 77:  
  
Relief washed over Jade. She could breathe again. Sirius was innocent and the charges would be dropped. Everything would go back to how it used to be. How could Peter betray Sirius like that? Hell, how could he betray Lily and James like that? Jade shaked at the thought of what she would do to Peter if she ever again saw him. She never liked Peter as much as the rest of the group, nor did she completely trust him, but she was friends with Peter. And he was best friends with James and Sirius!  
  
Jade calmed herself down and enjoyed the possibility of Sirius being free with her. Jade walked to the back of her house, in the back of her closet was a brown leather bound book. The one she had taken from Sirius' house all those years ago, before Lily and James had died. She opened it up.  
  
It wasn't a book at all, but cleverly disguised so. In it, Jade kept a sketch that Sirius had drawn of her on Christmas morning. The morning after they had made love to each other for the first time.  
  
It was beautiful. She stared at it for a moment but was interrupted when there was a knock at the door. Quickly, she put the picture back into the leather casing and tied it up.  
  
Jade opened the front door, somewhat socked, but pleasantly surprised at who she saw.  
  
"Have we met?" Jade asked, a smile creeping onto her face.  
  
"Never. May I come in?" Patrick smiled. He was holding out tiger-lily flowers to her.  
  
"Sure." Jade opened the door wider and he stepped in, giving her the flowers.  
  
She walked to the kitchen and magiced a vase to fill with water, then she put them in the vase and set it by her sink window.  
  
"What's this?" Patrick asked, picking up the leather book.  
  
Jade snatched it out of his hands quickly. "Nothing!" She made the book zoom out of her room and go upstairs.  
  
Patrick raised an eyebrow but Jade pretended as if nothing had happened.  
  
"I was wondering what you were doing for dinner." Patrick asked, moving his light hair out of his eyes.  
  
"Oh! Well... I-"  
  
"Because if you're not doing anything, I know this great muggle restaurant in down-town London. You know, just something casual."  
  
Patrick was at least eight years younger than Jade, probably more, but this didn't seem to bother him at all. Besides, he was knew, and probably didn't have many friends at work yet.  
  
"Alright. Casual, that's cool."  
  
Patrick smiled. It was quite nice, actually.  
  
I'll be back at six to pick you up, if that's alright."  
  
"No, no, six is good." 


	41. MuggleMade RainForest, And A Stolen Kiss

Post 78:  
  
Jade didn't know why, but as soon as Patrick left she ran upstairs to see what she would be wearing. Think casual. she thought.  
  
Jade decided on a pair of light-blue low-rise cotton jeans, plain white runners, and a plain, long sleeve shirt.  
  
Patrick knew Jade as her main disguise. A redhead with blue eyes, the same one she used all through Hogwarts and Auror training. Jade was twenty-nine, going on thirty in a few months. She figured Patrick was nineteen, seeing at it was his first year as an Auror. Jade didn't want to flatter herself, but she knew she didn't look thirty, she still had her thirteen piercings, including her tongue and belly-button, but Patrick, who had read her files, must have known how old she was. The doorbell rang and Jade quickly squirted on some perfume.  
  
"Hello again." Jade stepped out into the night. It had an air of spring in it. "So... where are we going?" She looked at Patrick. He was wearing a black button-up shirt and a pair of dark, slightly baggy jeans. She noticed that he smelt really good too.  
  
"The Rainforest Café. Sometimes, muggles can be brilliant."  
  
"So, where are we apperating?"  
  
Patrick took her hand. "Just think 'downtown London'."  
  
A second later Jade opened her eyes to find herself standing in front of a restaurant that had vines and even an elephant head all around the entrance. A large aquarium was placed where people waited to be seated, and trees were scattered through out the room.  
  
"For two?" A waitress asked.  
  
"Yes. And-"Patrick lowered his voice, but Jade could still hear what he was saying: "Could you get us a seat in the thunderstorm area."  
  
"Sure thing." The waitress winked and led Jade and Patrick to a two-person table that was near a trough of water.  
  
"Even the chairs are made of wood and bamboo!" Jade exclaimed, noticing the design of her seat for the first time.  
  
Patrick ordered food for the both of them and then they started talking.  
  
"So did you always know you wanted to be an Auror?" Jade asked.  
  
"Nah, I mean, I always thought it was interesting, and I thought about it long and hard, but after Hogwarts I decided to go into International Affairs. It was good, but not my thing. So then I enrolled into becoming an Auror. The training program is a lot harder now. They accept more people, but it takes three years."  
  
"Haha... sucker." Jade laughed, then cleared her throat. "Sorry. It's just; training was only three months when I enrolled. Mind you, only about forty people got accepted per year, and only about thirty graduated."  
  
"Some how, I think you got the better end of the deal."  
  
"Yeah. So... how long did you stay in International Affairs for?"  
  
"Only a year, plus a year of training."  
  
Jade quickly did the math in her head. That meant he was twenty-three, seven years younger than Jade, not even.  
  
Post 79: Sirius Black Is Back!  
  
Jade was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was past two in the morning, but for some reason Jade wasn't letting herself fall asleep. She had had a wonderful time with Patrick, of course, and she didn't even get in until after midnight.  
  
A creak in a floor board made her ears perk up. Slowly, she reached for her wand which was under her pillow. Silently, she sat up in bed and looked towards her door that was partially open. A shadow lingered behind it.  
  
Someone was slowly opening the door. A figure stood in its frame and walked over towards her in the dark.  
  
"Lumos." A husky voice whispered.  
  
Jade's heart stopped beating. There in front of her, stood Sirius Black.  
  
But it was no longer the devilishly handsome, seductive Sirius she once knew. His skin was pale, waxy looking, and his eyes were hallow and dead. His hair was long and unkempt, he was thin and wavering.  
  
"What happened to you?" Jade breathed.  
  
"Azkaban." he croaked.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I just came to check up on you. To make sure you were fine." He stepped back but Jade grabbed his torn sleeve.  
  
"Sirius." She cried in desperation. They looked at each other and then thrust together, kissing madly. Jade closed her eyes, and moved her hand up his arm, but he moved away from her.  
  
"I'm sorry." she whispered.  
  
"So am I." With that Sirius walked away from her, not looking back. When he reached her doorway, Jade called out to him: "I was with him, that day."  
  
Sirius stopped walking.  
  
"I had to inspect the Malfoy manor. That's where I was, and that's why I couldn't face you afterwards. I was trying to be strong."  
  
I know." a swish of a cloak, and he was gone. 


	42. Christmas

Jade had no idea what to do. She _did_ know that she wasn't going to inform the Ministry of Sirius though. But was he a mad man? She had Owled Remus immediately the next day, telling him everything. But Remus shocked her with some horrific news in response. Black had broken into Hogwarts, and had slashed the Fat Lady when she wouldn't let him enter the common room.  
_But he seemed so calm, so _normal_ when I saw him!_ Jade thought to herself. Was she making excuses for herself like Patrick had suggested?  
So how did she feel now? About Sirius? About Patrick? Jade needed a break from the both of them. She wanted Remus to come home for Christmas, but he needed to stay at the school because Christmas was a full moon and Snape had to give him his potion. So Jade would be alone. Again.  
  
Jade woke up Christmas morning tired and grumpy. She threw on a housecoat and slippers, and made herself a cup of green tea. She had presents, she noticed. One from Remus, one from Dumbledore, and one from... Patrick.  
She opened his first, wondering what it was. Jade had sent him a simple Christmas card and a singing tree ornament.  
Jade laughed when she saw what it was. He had sent her the same thing! Except he also sent her some chocolates too... guaranteed to not melt in her hand.  
Jade finished her tea and got dressed, in a much better mood than when she woke up. Her house had a working TV. Because she lived in a small village, she was the only witch around for miles, giving her the freedom to use muggle device and magic. Every Christmas Jade spent her time watching old Japanese kung-fu movies with voice- overs while she got drunk. Usually though, Remus came over for a nice lunch.  
So Jade sat on her couch, in sweats, wrapped in blanket drinking, eating fried food she picked up from a store down the road, watching Japanese movies, thinking to herself how the movies should be funny, but weren't, when a soft rapt fell upon the door.  
"What are you doing here?" Jade whispered as she opened the door wider, to let Sirius inside quickly.  
"I don't know." His voice was scratched. "I just... didn't want be alone today, again."  
It was pouring rain outside, and Sirius was soaked. She dried his hair with her wand and gave him her blanket.  
"Have you been drinking?" Sirius asked, sniffing the air.  
"A little." They sat down together, and Jade put the film back on.   
"I shouldn't have come here." Sirius said, once the movie had finished and Jade got up to put in its sequel.  
"Why?"   
"You've sworn to tell them if you've seen me."  
"I won't."  
"And- I shouldn't have come at all." He got up and took off the blanket.  
"Sirius? What's going o-"  
"We're over. I didn't _want_ it to end, but we've been over for a long time now. And I don't think we can be friends either. I should stay away from you."  
"Sirius Black, what the hell are you talking about, 'you should stay away from me'?"  
But he vanished. And Jade's bad mood came back very quickly.  
  
Sirius watched her from her window, in animagus form. She was crying as she opened another wine bottle. She had someone else now, and coming back into her life was a mistake. _Merlin, she was beautiful!_   
  
Sirius Black ran in animagus form, soaked to the bone. He didn't stop until he found shelter a considerable distance away from Jade's home. He needed to get into Hogwarts again. He needed to get wormtail.  
  
Jade worked harder and faster than ever before, she knew it would not be long before Voldemort returned to power, and when he did, she would ensnare Lucius Malfoy into the hands of the dementors. Spring had come and gone, summer was on the doorstep. And still she had heard nothing of or from Black.  
It was like all was waiting for something. The public people felt it too, drawing in breath and holding, waiting for him to make his move.   
  
In May, Jade and Patrick had a talk.  
They had been casually seeing each other, but it was time for Jade to straighten herself out.  
"Patrick," She said, reaching across her kitchen table and putting her hands over his.  
"You're a really great person, and I always feel comfortable around you. You're a laugh, a really great guy, but I feel as though I've been deceiving you all this time."  
"It's ok." He patted her hands and smiled. "I understand how you feel and why. I was there once."  
Jade smiled at him, happy he was so accepting.  
"I guess I was hoping you'd get over him. But I guess that you can't really get over someone you love. Especially when you still have a chance of being with them."  
"Thank you." Jade whispered.


	43. Three Letters And Rita Skeeter

Post 81:  
  
Arabella Figg, a now-retired Auror, had interrogated Lucius Malfoy back in the dark days of the war.  
It took Jade months and months to track down a copy of record, but in June she found it. She was drinking green tea and smiling as she read it, as it was sure to have something in it to give a clue to something much bigger. Jade now knew many details of the Malfoy life and history that would shock many.  
All at once, three owls came flapping and squawking into her kitchen through her open window. After she sorted them all out, she took their burdens and they flew off again, fighting on the way out.  
The first one was from the Ministry of magic, Top Auror department.   
Auror Lorien, Jade;  
Having received and read a copy of your letter to Minister Fudge some months prior, having gone through your records and credentials, and due to the mysterious escape of Azkaban fleer, Black, Sirius, we at the ministry have decided that you should go before the Wizenmagot on July first, noon, for a hearing. There is no need to be alarmed, you are as of yet not a suspect, only a person of interest. In case of failure to attend hearing, your Auror license will be taken away indefinitely.  
Good day,  
Auror investigate department.  
"WHAT?" Jade was shaking with rage and resentment. What the hell was this about? There was absolutely no information given to her in the letter!  
  
Jade tore open her second letter. She could tell it was from Dumbledore by his writing, but she could not understand the meaning of what he was saying.  
_Keep your eyes and ears open. The signs are more clear then ever._  
Puzzled, and still frustrated from her first letter, Jade turned to her third.  
It was from Remus.  
Jade,   
Everything went wrong. I'm coming home soon and I'm afraid I will not be returning to Hogwarts. You were right about Padfoot though. He's innocent. I saw the one who wasn't. I'll tell you more when I get home, but if you've picked up the morning _Prophet_ you will have already conceived your own ideas of what happened. Snape has possibly grown more foolish and more evil than when we knew him.  
Remus  
Jade stared at the letter and then reread it. _I saw the one who wasn't._ Jade wondered why Remus wasn't going to go back. _If you've picked up the morning _Prophet_ you will have already conceived your own ideas of what happened._  
Jade reached across the table and grabbed the upside-down newspaper and flipped it over.  
  
SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AGAIN! NEARLY KILLS POTTER AND FRIENDS!  
Dark Arts Teacher Suspected Of Aiding In Black's Mysterious Escape Form Hogwarts After Heroic Potions Professor Corners Him!  
  
Black's face was spread across the page, scowling.

Post 82:  
  
_Last evening, escaped convict Black came face to face with THE BOY WHO LIVED and two of his best friends. After Black attacked Potter's friend, Aurthor Weasley's youngest son, Potter and another friend rushed to his aid. As it seems, the shrieking shack in HOGSMADE had some role in the scene, and it may have been Black's hiding place, officials say. __  
__"I almost got there too late. Black had already put Disillusioning charms on all three students. But I managed to tie up Lupin and Black, and get the kids out of the shack." Potions Professor Severus Snape says. __  
__Unfortunately, all went askew when Lupin turned into a Werewolf and ripped through the ropes, setting himself and Black free.__  
__"I was attacked. And I saw Dementors coming. All I could think about were the children, who were in panic, and still under Black's charm. The Dementors caused them all to pass out. I drove them all off and then brought them to the Hospital Wing." The Professor recalls. __  
__Black somehow conjured up more magic though, when he escaped out of a heavily gaurded room on the thirteenth floor of the Hogwarts castle. __  
__One must question Dumbledore's constant stream of unconventional teachers at Hogwarts as he has now put the students in great danger. Lupin will no longer be teaching, but one can only wonder who he will appoint next year.__  
__Rita Skeeter Reports._

Post 83:  
  
Jade threw down the _Prophet_ in rage. How could the Ministry, the very people who are suppose to be protecting the public, be so incredibly stupid?  
At least Sirius is free, Jade thought to herself.  
Jade sighed, sipped her tea, and went back to the copy of Figg's interrogation of Lucius Malfoy.  
Jade flipped to the last page and put down her mug, eyes widening.  
"So, you think you've caught me then, have you? Go ahead, run to little Barty Crouch. What do you think is going to happen to you? Try to remember, Cornelius and I have been friends since our Hogwarts days... I can easily persuade him to see things my way." –Lucius Malfoy.  
"Try. Money can't buy you out of everything! Especially when you've murdered 16 muggles and 7 wizards!'' – Arabella Figg.  
  
Jade stood up. "The charges were dropped!" She said out loud. "And Figg lied to me!''  
Jade had gone to see Figg weeks prior, to ask her of interview, but Figg had told her that she had never even interrogated Lucius, and that he was a fine Wizard who donated to a number of charities. This puzzled Jade. Why would she lie to a fellow Auror? Jade had almost believed her too.  
And then it hit her. Arabella Figg had a memory charm put on her. She wasn't lying, because to her, it never happened. And that's why the record was so hard to find; someone was protecting Malfoy.  
  
That's it. Jade now had enough evidence that the Ministry could no longer ignore. She would go there tomorrow, confront Fudge himself, and then get Lucius arrested. Finally.


	44. The Minister's Fire

Post 84:  
  
Jade woke up before the sun had risen. She would finally have her revenge, and after all these years, she could let go of this hate. Lucius will rot in Azkaban, and she would be free of him.  
She already had all of her evidence pilled neatly into a box. And she found herself humming as she made breakfast for the first time ever.   
Jade pulled on a light, lavender, sleeveless robe and remembered to conceal her tattoo. She tied her red hair back loosely and pocketed her wand. In an instant, she apperated to the Ministry.  
  
She took an _official person_ badge, and walked along the long oaken-floor hallway to the Minister's foyer.  
"Auror Lorien to see Minister Fudge." Jade told the short witch who sat behind the secretary desk.  
"I'll let him know you've arrived." The Secretary scribbled something on a piece of paper, and magic-ed it to fly under the door into Fudge's office. The curly brown-haired witch tapped her long, perfect nails on the desk, looking bored. Jade noted her own nails, which were short and unpolished. The paper zoomed back out and into the secretary's hand.  
''I'm sorry, the Minister is busy. He will talk to you at your hearing in August.'' Jade stood there, holding her box, shifting uneasily.  
Jade turned, thinking she'd come back later, when she heard laughter from inside his office. One of the laughs was very familiar.  
Her heart stopped. Jade whipped around and tried to open the door.   
"Alohamora!" Jade threw the door open and stepped inside the ill-lit room. She waved her wand and the glass orbs that were floating at the ceiling came to life, their glow reaching the corners of the large office. The fireplace was lit; how odd as it was now the end of June.  
"How dare you! You can't just barge in here, uninvited!"  
"Minister Fudge, I heard two people behind this door. Where has your friend gone?"  
"What? What is this nonsense? I don't have to answer to you!"  
"Minister Fudge," Jade rose her voice to make herself heard. "I have only come here uninvited for a very good reason. There is a conspiracy within the Ministry. I am Auror Lorien, and I have put together a case against Lucius Malfoy on the charges of multiple murders, mass- arson, bribing, blackmailing, the use of all three unforgivable curses, and for being in the league with the dark one."   
Fudge was silent.  
"Can you prove all of this?" He asked a moment later.  
Jade thumped her box onto his desk.  
"I have another full box at home, but the more important stuff is all in here." Jade looked around, feeling that she was being watched. "I know how much Lucius donates to charities each year, but that does not change the fact that he is a monster, who needs to be locked up."  
Fudge nodded.  
"I'm going to be arresting him tomorrow."  
Fudge looked up at her, surprised.  
"Don't worry, I have Aurors Alastor Moody and Patrick Jefferson on standby if I need them. But something tells me Mr. Malfoy will come quietly."   
"Alright."  
"I need you to sign this.'' Jade handed him Lucius' arrest papers, already done up. He signed it and threw it back to her.  
Jade rolled it up and pocketed it.  
''It's good to see you finally know where your loyalties lie, Minister.'' Jade said. ''I'll leave this box with you to review. I have more than one copy.''  
Jade left his office and breathed deeply.


	45. The Malfoy Manor

Post 85:

Jade awoke the next morning and no matter how nervous she was, she was also excited.

"Forgiveness is sweet, but revenge is much more rewarding." She whispered to her quiet room. Jade slipped into her black-jumpsuit; what every Auror wears under their robes when going into battle. It kept her body temperature at a perfectly comfortable level, and allowed flexibility that could not be normally gained from regular clothes. The sleeves weren't sown onto the suit, instead they were held onto the body of the suit by leather string, so all Jade had to do was pull purposefully on it and the sleeves would fall from her shoulders.

Jade threw a black cloak over her jumpsuit and put her wand into her pocket. She tied her runners tight, pulled her red hair into a tight bun at the base of her neck, and smiled at herself nervously in front of the mirror.

She was confident, but something didn't feel right to her.

Jade transformed herself into the form she had taken when she inspected his home; apple green eyes, a few freckles across her nose and cheeks, light brown hair, and cheekbones that hid under her cheeks. Her height shortened three inches as well.

Jade thought back to the one time she had been in the Malfoy manor- searching for dark objects. She had been so confident, so calm then; although she was shaking inside. Well, Jade was certainly shaking again, but this time out of rage.

_Malfoy thinks he's untouchable. Not today._ Suddenly, an owl flew into her kitchen through her open window. It was marble and had scorched tail feathers along with a chewed ear. Jade, recognizing the bird, smiled and scratched its head before untying the parchment.

Moody and Jefferson on stand-by. Good luck.

You know what to do if you need us.

Was scrawled messily onto it. Jade took a deep breath, closed her eyes, checked to make sure the feather was in her pocket, and a second late later she found her feet on the drive of the Malfoy Manor. It was now or never.

Jade let the large, cold iron knocker fall into place loudly three times, and was surprised to find a tall thin woman open the door with her nose stuck up and long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders.

'Narcissa' thought Jade. Mrs. Malfoy wore an elegant, icy blue gown that clung to her bones and plunged down her chest. Clearly company had been expected.

Jade did not give Narcissa Malfoy a chance to speak but instead spoke so forcefully, so loudly, that Narcissa's own mouth snapped back so that it hurt.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Your husband, Lucius Malfoy is under arrest for the following charges: The use of all three unforgivable curses, multiple murders, torturing countless muggles, including children, mass arson, robbery, cheating, and for being in the league of the dark one.

"I have a document warranting Lucius Malfoy's immediate arrest signed by Minister Fudge himself."

Narcissa Malfoy looked indifferent to what Jade had just said but when Jade flashed her badge and unrolled the parchment, Mrs. Malfoy opened the door wider and allowed for Jade to step inside the cold mansion.

Jade looked around, feeling the mansion was colder and more menacing than before. Dobby was missing.

"What happened to Dobby?"

"Who?"

"Your house-elf."

"Dobby was presented with clothing last year." Narcissa sneered.

'Thank Merlin' thought Jade to herself. She could tell he had hated working for the Malfoys.

"May I help you?" Lucius' voice was loud and forceful. Jade looked up to see him descend from the grand staircase with incredible poise.

Jade's body filled with anger and hatred. Now that she was arresting him, she wanted to be free of the weight on her shoulders she had been carrying for eighteen years. Jade breathed deeply and gave Malfoy the dirtiest look possible.

"Mr. Malfoy, it is my greatest pleasure to inform you that you are under arrest. I have no time for formalities; here are your fcking papers." Jade flung the unrolled scroll with fudge's signature, the scroll with his charges on it, and the parchment slip for his trial date.

Malfoy coolly picked each one up with delicacy and then placed then on the edge of the stair banister with out reading them.

"I'm afraid I won't be going anywhere today, nor will I ever be." He said,

"I have golden hand cuffs, don't make me use them." Jade growled. Casually she felt the feather in her pocket. All she had to do was stroke it three times and Moody and Jefferson would come to her aid, calling Auror back up if needed.

"Well, this all rather pointless, these charges are clearly fake. Fudge would never sign this. We have been good friends since our Hogwarts days."

"Malfoy, he had no choice! Do you know how much evidence the Ministry has on you? Fudge signed the damn thing because I gave him two boxes full of evidence against you!" Jade was exasperated but Malfoy seemed no more bothered or disturbed.

"Yes. Why have you been so keen to put me in Azkaban? I know for a fact you've been working for years to put me away. The Dark Lord will free me if you lock me away, so why waste your time?" Malfoy spoke so calmly; it sent chills up Jade's spine.

"You are a monster. And you will not fully understand my hatred for you until your one hundred years of solitude are over, and your body burns." Jade spat. Lucius' eyes widened in disbelief.

"Let's go. Now! I haven't got all day and no one's going to save you."

"I will."


	46. The Loyalties Of The Minister

Post 86:  
  
Through the doorway of the den came Minister Fudge.  
"Minister! How could you?"  
"Mr. Malfoy has told you already; Lucius and I have been friends since our Hogwarts days. We were in the same house, both made Prefects, you know."  
"Oh, You're a Slytherin. That's unfortunate; they always were a weak lot." Jade glared at Malfoy. Shivers went up his spine, though he wasn't sure why.  
"Who are you? I thought Auror Lorien would be making this arrest." Fudge said, perplexed.  
Suddenly, Jade froze, realizing her mistake. She had not been expecting Fudge to be here, and so she was not in her usual metamorphmagus form, and so he did not recognize her- no one at the Ministry except for Moody knew about her shape-shifting abilities.  
"I am Lorien. Like my new look?" Jade asked. Fudge still looked confused but went back to the matter at hand.  
"We're dismissing every charge against Mr. Malfoy-"  
"You can't do that! He's guilty! You SIGNED his arrest papers!" Jade yelled.  
"We're dismissing every charge against Mr. Malfoy AND we're awarding him 1000 Galleons for his inconvenience of having to put up with this entire situation.  
"Unfortunately, the unprofessionalism in which you have carried everything out with will be reviewed at your hearing next month. You will, however, not be attending it." Fudge said with a crooked smile.  
"What?" Jade barely had time to decipher what the Minister of Magic had said before something heavy came crashing down on her head.  
As she lay on the cold marble ground, with a pool of blood growing around her, Lucius bent down and whispered that she would never see the light of day again. Jade rubbed the Eagle's feather three times before her world went dark.

Post 87:  
  
When Jade woke up she found herself on the floor in a dark room. There was one small window high in the wall, no doors, and a black blanket had been thrown in the corner. She pulled it around her for warmth; the room was freezing.  
Eight months had past since her encounter with Malfoy and Fudge, and now that she had woken up she couldn't remember a thing that had happened to her, or who she was.  
She didn't bother yelling or banging, for she could tell that she was in no position to be welcoming whom ever would be answering her calls.  
The next day, a golden tray of food appeared before her. It looked delicious: hot soup, fresh bread, a large chicken leg, ripe grapes, and a goblet of wine. Immediately Jade reached for the food but then pulled away.  
Something was wrong.  
The tray disappeared an hour later, and reappeared the next day around the same time. The food was still in the same position, but once again Jade did not eat anything. This happened for three days before Jade decided to check her pockets.  
She pulled out a long, thin wand, an Eagle's feather, slightly bent and squished, two Galleons, five Sickles, and three Knuts. She also found a Butter beer Cork, and a few Bertie Bott's every flavoured beans.  
Jade ate the beans all at once and examined the feather. It had some meaning behind it, she was sure. In her inner pocket of the cloak, Jade found a small silver badge. The design looked very familiar: in the shape of a crest, it had a feather crossed with a wand in the centre, with a star at the top. 'LORIEN' was what the bottom read.  
"Lorien!" Jade said out loud. "My name is Jade Lorien." She smiled- she had remembered her name.


	47. Peices To The Puzzle

Post 88:

Jade woke up the next day with a cramp in her left arm. She rubbed it, still confused as to what she was doing in this dungeon-like room. 'Why do I have a feather in my pocket?'

The image of Lucius flashed before her in her mind. Something- everything, important was missing.

The tray of food appeared before her again and she was starving, but refused to even look at the food. Jade would die soon, and she knew it, but instincts told her that as soon as she ate off of that tray, something bad would happen to her.

Finally, days later, Jade decided she needed to eat. While waiting for the tray to arrive, she looked out of the small high window. There was snow on the ground- but not fresh snow. The very first signs of spring were shown outside. This made Jade realize that she had been unconscious for many months, for she was wearing a cloak of summer material and runners.

Jade picked up her wand and waved it around in vain: she knew she needed to say something but couldn't recall what. Still, she tried again, and again. Jade waved her wand a sixth time and said "Lumos" before realizing she had even opened her mouth.

A bright light shot out from its tip, and for the first time, the entire room was visible.

On the wall, Jade noticed a pattern of black stones in the shape of an 'M'. The name 'Malfoy' jumped into her thoughts.

"Nox." The light from her wand went out and slowly, Jade Lorien started piecing things together.

She knew her name was Jade Lorien, that she worked for the government and held an important position there. She knew that she had been unconscious from anywhere from six to nine months, and that 'Malfoy' owned this... room. Jade could tell that she was on some sort of mission because she was wearing a black jumpsuit that had the same design on it as her badge: a crest with a feather crossed with a wand with a star at the top. She also had a feeling that not too many people knew that she was here and that was the way someone wanted to keep it.

Jade closed her eyes and waved her wand around, giving it a meaningful flick at the end. A loaf of bread appeared before her, still hot from being baked. Smiling, she devoured the bread in a matter of minutes, feeling wonderfully full.

Just as she finished, footsteps came towards the room. Quickly, Jade tossed the blanket she had been using back into the corner and stuffed her wand back in her pocket, flinging herself against the floor and closing her eyes just as a door opened.

"Still unconscious, Mr. Malfoy." Came a male voice.

"This is taking too long. _When_ will she wake up?" Another male voice answered. Jade recognized it instantly.

"Well, she may never wake up. And, when she does, she may not remember everything, or anything, that happened. She may not even remember who she is, or her magical abilities."

"I see." His voice was non-committal. "When will we know she has woken up?"

"As soon as she eats any of the food we give her, you'll know."

The door slammed shut, leaving Jade alone with another piece in the puzzle.


	48. Drinking Hot Chocolate With The Devil

Post 89:

Jade fell asleep rather peacefully, dreaming of a time when she was invisible, under a silky cloak with a young man she knew but could not remember, underneath a blanket of stars.

When Jade woke up a small patch of light was on her eyes, and the blanket she had not used was tucked in neatly around her. She slowly opened her eyes, and as she did, a handsome figure dressed in all black, with neatly brushed silver hair, came into focus; Lucius Malfoy was sitting on a comfortable chair across the circular room, looking quite unsurprised that Jade had woken up.

Since there was no way of hiding that she was awake, Jade sat up and looked at Lucius.  
"What happened to me?"  
"Someone hit you over the head with a small porcelain statue. You've been unconscious for eight and a half months." He paused. "How much do you remember?"  
"MY name is Jade Lorien, I'm and auror and I was on some sort of mission when... well- this." Jade waved her hand around the room.  
"Is that all you remember?"  
"Yes."  
"And what do you know of me?" Lucius asked. Although he had not introduced himself, Jade knew who he was.  
"You're Lucius Malfoy. You're very rich and you're someone important in the Ministry, though I don't know what you do. This is also your house."  
"Very well." Malfoy got up and waved his hand in front of the wall. A door appeared and then swung opened.  
"Come on, you need something to eat."  
Jade stood up, her knees weak from being on a stone floor for so long. She almost fell but Lucius caught her quickly and smiled.  
"Thank you." Jade was surprised by the gesture and even more surprised by his charming smile.  
Jade was led down a spiral staircase, down a long hallway, down a grand staircase, through another hallway, and into a marble kitchen.   
"Um... look, I've forgotten how to use my wand- I mean; I can't remember any of the incantations." Jade decided to make herself seem as helpless and dependant as possible if she was going to get information out of Malfoy easily.  
"What would you like to eat?"  
"Oh... surprise me."  
Lucius Malfoy waved his wand; linens set themselves, china took its place, and French toast for two appeared out of no where.  
"I love French toast! It's my all time favourite thing."  
"Mine too" They ate in silence for a while, and Jade ran her fingers through her messy blonde curls.  
"You probably want to take a shower and change. You can use the guest bed and bath. I'll find something of my wife's for you to wear."  
"Thank you so much."

After they finished eating Lucius led her to a large mahogany room that had it's own marble bathroom.  
"I trust you will find everything you need here." Lucius turned and left.

Jade took a long hot shower, running her hands through her blonde hair. When she came out she found a long black gown laid out across the canopy bed. It was too long for her, and very revealing, but it was shockingly warm and comfortable.

There was a knock at the door and a moment later Mr. Malfoy entered the room.  
"I apologize for the dress; my wife always dresses very- extravagantly." He waved his wand and her hair was instantly dried and brushed. "She went to Paris three days ago, I'm afraid. Her sister has become ill. It's a shame, she loves having guests."  
"Mr. Malfoy, how did I end up here, at your house?"  
"Come, follow me." They went to the living room and Lucius waved up hot chocolate for them both. Jade sat on the leather couch and sipped her drink.  
Lucius sat across from her.  
"The day you were knocked unconscious, you came here to visit me. You wanted to warn me about something and to ask for my help with something. Only a few moments after you arrived, the house was attacked. Someone hit you over the head with a porcelain statue of my wife, and I was knocked unconscious.  
"When I came to, my front entrance way was in shambles and you were on the floor. I had my personal physician look at you; weekly, actually."

Jade sat in silence for a minute, taking all of this in. "What did I come to talk to you about?"  
Malfoy sighed. "My only guess is- do you remember who the dark Lord is?"  
"Oh... oh, yes. I remember him."  
"Well, a few days later, there was a rumour that started, that he was coming back, stronger than ever.  
"Of course, the Ministry has stamped this rumour out. But- I fear there may be some truth to it. I can feel it; he's growing stronger."  
Jade and Lucius finished their hot chocolate in silence. Finally, when they finished, Lucius Malfoy said:  
"Tomorrow I'll call for my personal physician to examine you. Unfortunately, there's a strike going on at St. Mungo's hospital; not a good situation. I would have brought you there eight months ago, but I wasn't sure how safe you'd be."  
"Thank you. For everything."  
Jade went to the guest room and went to sleep, dreaming once again of the same boy she star gazed with, many years ago.


	49. Her Memory

Post 90:

When Jade woke up the next day she was overcome by the sensation that a large clue as to why she was at the Malfoy Manor was staring her in the face, but she could not realize it. Yawning, she got out of bed and walked over to the full length mirror across the room. Jade's sensation quickly turned from confusion to a physical state of nausea, and her skin all over was tingly with a funny feeling. Looking into the mirror Jade was overcome with shock and a sudden horror when she grew a few inches in height, her hair darkened to black, her eyes turned to a rainbow of colours amidst flecks of gold, her body became thinner, and her face lost all freckles.

For the first time that she could remember, Jade was looking at her true self. Why she had changed, she did not know, but ten minutes later at the sound of a knock on her door, Jade changed back; not at all sure of how she did so.

When Lucius came into her room Jade suddenly felt uneasy, as though she had become vulnerable.

"Mr. Malfoy –"

"Lucius, please; I'd like to think we are on friendlier terms than that!" Lucius chuckled. Jade smiled.

"Do you know where I live? Um- who my family is? I think I could put together some clues of my past if I had more information."

"Unfortunately, you are the only person left of your blood line, and I do not know where you live. In London, perhaps?"

As soon as Jade heard Lucius say 'London' she knew that that was where she lived, but despite having no reason to, she shook her head no as if she had never heard of the place.

"Do you have a- a telephone book?" Jade asked.

"What in bloody hell is that?"

"I don't know." Jade shook her head; this was more agitating than she had anticipated.

Jade looked up at Lucius who was staring at her chest, and the feeling of vulnerability inside of her increased. Jade could see that he was concentrated, his mind was working fiercely.

"Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" Lucius asked, looking up at her slowly.

Jade had to get out. She knew now that Lucius Malfoy was lying to her about how she ended up unconscious, and had a feeling that she had actually been at his house to arrest him.

"The Order of the Phoenix…" Jade muttered. "It makes me think about… flying… I don't know why. Why? What is it?" Jade asked.

"It doesn't matter- my Healer is here to have a look at you. Come on in, Avery." At the name Avery Jade's blood turned to stone. A symbol that had haunted her dreams for many years re-entered her mind. A skull, with a snake dancing its way out of its mouth. Jade recovered before Avery entered the room however, and tried her best to act as though he was just anybody.

Avery asked her questions, felt her head for bumps, and shone his wand in her eyes. He concluded that all anyone could do now was to wait for her memory to come back, which may or may not happen. At this Jade acted really distressed, and started crying, proclaiming that she didn't know who she was and that she was so, so confused, and buried herself into her pillow, adding that could they please give her a moment- she didn't want to be seen in that state.

When Lucius rubbed her back and then left with Avery a moment later, Jade couldn't believe they had fallen for it! She had never acted so horribly in her life, and they actually thought she was genuinely distraught!

Jade had to get a message to Remus- she was sure he could help her. The mention of the Order of the Phoenix triggered something in her brain, and she went into Auror mode. Once the two men were out of sight, Jade scribbled a note to Remus saying:

_Help me! I'm at the Malfoy Manor, under Lucius' close watch. I've lost part of my memory and I don't know what to do! Love, Jade_

She folded the note and stuffed it into her pocket because footsteps were coming back towards the door. Lucius came in alone and said that Avery had left; he had other patients to attend to.

"Thank you again for everything, Lucius. You've been so kind to me." Jade said.

"Oh, it was the least I could do for an old friend." Lucius responded. "Come, I've prepared breakfast, you'll feel better once you eat."

Jade hid the folded parchment on her person while eating breakfast and then asked if she could step outside to "clear her head". It was the afternoon but she knew if she concentrated, an owl would come to her.

Sure enough, after several minutes, an owl landed in a tree branch nearby and waited for Jade to say it was alright to come to her. After looking around to make sure Lucius wasn't spying on her out of any of the windows, she called the large brown bird to her shoulder and tied the parchment to its leg.

"Give this to Remus Lupin. And hurry!" Jade watched the owl fly off before turning back to the Malfoy Manor.

Lucius Malfoy was standing by the front door, and he didn't look pleased.


	50. The Uncovering

Post 91:

Jade thought about running, but where would she go? Where was she now? Jade wasn't sure if she could apperate properly and she wasn't about to take _that_ risk. She walked back to the house as though she had done nothing wrong in his eyes and approached him as he was blocking the door.

"What, may I ask you, were you doing with an owl?" His voice was calm, but Jade could tell that he knew she sent away a letter.

"I sent a letter to Albus Dumbledore. Telling him where I am, and about my memory. I think that if anyone can help me its him, don't you?" Jade responded.

The side of Lucius' eye twitched with furry, and he tried to remain calm, but failed. He struck Jade against the side of her head hard, and yelled: "I will not have that fool coming here! Now stop lying to me Auror and tell me what it is you know!"

Jade was truly shocked at Lucius' reaction. He had just blown his cover completely and there was no point in going back to being nice and playing friends. Jade just stood there, open mouthed, not knowing what exactly to do. Maybe he hadn't fallen for her acting that morning with Avery after all.

"Well? … What have you to say for yourself?" Malfoy stormed.

"I- I- I don't understand- I know I'm an Auror, I told you so already!" Jade needed to stall as long as possible to but Remus time, but Jade knew it would not be enough. Lucius reached into his robe pocket and whipped out his wand. As he raised his wand in the air his sleeve slipped down his arm, and Jade saw the dark mark which had haunted her dreams for years, which the name Avery reminded her of.

Memories, horrid memories came flooding back to Jade, and she remembered all that had been lost- even which she wanted to loose. Jade fell to her knees, crying. She had come so close to throwing Lucius Malfoy into Azkaban, so close to finally starting to bring him to justice after so many years, and she had failed. Minister Fudge was either corrupt, stupid, or had been manipulated; Jade assumed it was a bit of all three.

Lucius just stood watching her. He had never experienced such a reaction to him before. He had only pulled out his wand to threaten her because he wasn't sure if he wanted her dead or alive yet, and she fell and started crying. He assumed she wanted mercy, but it was only because she failed in her revenge.

Jade stood up and wiped tears away from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"You were going to arrest me; you were trying to sentence me to one hundred years of solitude- a sentence that hasn't been used since Grindewald!"

"Would you prefer a kiss? I'm sure any dementor would be only too happy to fulfill that." Jade was silent for a while. "Before your wife knocked me unconscious- oh yes, Lucius, I know it was her- you asked me why I had been so keen on bringing about your demise. I'm sure you've thought over the many months you had me in your tower of the answer, and I'm even more sure that you have been incapable of coming to a definite answer- for you have done many horrible things to many people, and you have few true friends.

"Well, to your question I have an answer!" Jade pulled to loose sleeve of the yellow silk gown she was wearing up to her shoulder, so that her entire left hand was bare. The tattoo was there, as she knew it would be, and Lucius read it was astonishment and confusion.

I'm going to watch him suffer

I'm going to watch him scream in pain

I'm going to take away everything he has

I'm going to smile as he dies and then

I'm going to laugh when I see his grave

"I am she!" Jade said. "And I will not be at peace until this has all been accomplished."

Jade ran. She ran fast; where it did not matter. Just away from Malfoy. The driveway was long and slanted and she got through the gate to his manor easily. Jade just prayed that wherever she was, Malfoy wouldn't follow her. The other houses, they all belonged to wizards whose bloodline was pure- who all associated with Malfoy. He swung forth the gates, chasing her with his wand extended. But before he could do anything, Lupin apperated out of thin air, grabbed Jade, and disapperated. And so his troubles began.


	51. Remus and an Innocent Tulip

Post 92:

"Jade!" Remus hugged her tightly for a long time. They were standing in his living room.

"What happened to you? Moody said something went wrong- when they got there- it was all smoke. And they said, the Minister said you were never even there!"

"Fudge betrayed us! He's corrupt! He was there waiting when I arrived at the Manor. They knocked me unconscious."

"Jade, you left to arrest Malfoy eight and a half months ago."

"I know, I only regained consciousness about eleven or twelve days ago; I'm not sure."

Remus sighed and hugged Jade again. "I'm glad you're okay." Presently, he looked at what Jade was wearing.

"What are you wearing?" he smiled.

"It's Narcissa's. Malfoy lent it to me."

"I- I have- I have some of Ophelia's things still, stored away, if, if you want to-"

"If it won't bother you, then yes. I feel disgusting it this."

Remus went upstairs and came down with a long tee-shirt and light drawstring pants. Jade changed into them and reflected on the days when Ophelia, Lily, and James were still alive, when she was still with Sirius, when Peter hadn't betrayed them. Those were the wonderful days.

Jade looked at Remus sitting on the couch. He was unscrewing a cork from a wine bottle, with another one already unscrewed beside it and two glasses full.

"I figured we'll be too drunk to get it open." Remus said, tears already in his eyes.

"Good thinking." Jade plopped down beside him and raised her glass. "To friendship."

"To friendship!"

Jade woke up on the floor; Remus' hand was in her face, hanging over the couch.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Jade stood up too quickly and her head spun. She ran out of his front door and vomited on Remus' only living flower.

Remus got up and walked into his kitchen. He opened up a cupboard and found a bottle that contained a sickly blackish green liquid in it. He took a swig of it and then passed it to Jade.

"Thank you." Jade said. Immediately it calmed her stomach and dissolved her headache. "Sorry about your tulip; I'll clean up the mess." Jade walked back outside and waved her wand.

"We need to talk." Remus said, sitting again on the couch. "I have bad news."  
"About Sirius?"

"No. He's fine, he's gone into hiding." Remus looked Jade in the eyes and sighed deeply.

"After this whole incident, Moody decided to arrest Malfoy himself. He hoped that if he was given Vertiseum, he could talk. But… Jade, I'm sorry, when we went to your house to pick up your extra evidence… it was all ashes. Somebody burnt it down."  
Jade cried out in horror. Everything she had been working on for ten years, vanished!

"And, when we went to recover the other copy of it within the Ministry, it was stolen. As of now, the Ministry has nothing against Malfoy. And he's been donating to charities and St. Mungo's regularly since."

Jade could not believe what she was hearing. How cruel could life be?

"There is a bit of good news for you." Remus got up and walked over to the front hall closet. "One thing was salvaged from your home." He said, opening the door. He reached up to the top shelf and pulled down what looked like a large brown leather book.

Jade recognized it immediately and stood. Remus walked back over and handed it to her.

"I looked at it. I never knew Sirius was more than an artist that doodled around his notes. It was done at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yes." Jade whispered, feeling the book in her hand. Remus gave her a moment and went to make tea.

"There's something else." Remus said as he handed Jade her tea. "Malfoy has a son."

Jade looked up from her tea. "Yes. Yes, I think I knew that. Draco Malfoy."

"I taught him last year. He's rude, arrogant, the typical Slytherin. And he's always bragging about his father but, I think he's secretly ashamed of him."  
"What?"

"The impression I got from him, was that he praises his father because he's too scared to insult him."  
Jade smiled.

"Malfoy hates it when people defy him. Imagine how angry he will become when you make his own son."


End file.
